Friendship – Quality VS Quantity

I’ve come to realise that the quality time spent with those you care about is more important that the quantity of time. Likewise, the quality of the people you choose to have in your life is so much more important than the number.

There are plenty of people that come into our lives for a day, a month, 12 months or 12 years and I have no doubt that each one of them plays a role. We may click with somebody at some point in our life, but as we grow the friendship may not grow with us, and that’s OK.

The way many of us live today – racing between commitments and often feeling scattered – can make finding time for all of our ‘friends’ tricky. There is only a certain amount of time in a day and we are all juggling, but when we start to feel like we need to juggle our friends, it’s probably time to let go.

I came to the realisation a few years ago that if it feels like a mission finding the time to catch up with somebody, the strength of the relationship and what you bring to each other should probably come into question. These days, I really believe that if you can count your true friends on one hand you are truly blessed.

I would never have believed this in my earlier years. It’s the kind of thing that your mother tells you that makes you roll your eyes because you are so focused on the social side of life.

True friendships never need to be forced. The ones that stick with you, that are honest with you, that allow you to be yourself and that you know, without any hesitation, that there is mutual love and respect are your true friends. They deserve to be valued and given quality time, even if that doesn’t happen as often as you’d ideally like.

My best friend has moved interstate for the second time in ten years. We speak every few weeks and when we do it’s like no time has passed at all. Sure, I would love to chat to her more often but we are both busy people trying to fit in work, fitness, boyfriends and everything else in between. I know she is here for me and she knows that I am there for her whenever we need each other.

Recently, after a rough period in my life, I needed some time out and she was there to make sure I took it. We spent a week together in Bali. A week of quality time – real honest conversation, hours of laughter, a few tears and plenty of Margaritas, and it is a week that I will always remember.

We may not see each other for months but next time we do it will be just as great as the last. We don’t need to live in each other’s pockets to feel important to each other, nor do we need to speak every day to know how we feel – we just know.