Ships Passing in the Night

I never realized friendship was so arbitrary, and that so many took it so lightly.

I've always thought friendship was something to be cherished. Granted, there are levels of friendship, and I've always questioned people who made friends too quickly and seemed to have them too deep in their lives.

There has been a lot of hurt going on recently in an on-line community I'm privileged to be part of. Most of it involves people being purposely hurtful to those who, once, they called friend. What this says to me is that those people have no idea what that word means, the responsibilities it implies, nor are they capable of achieving the feelings necessary to use it in the proper context.

I've been hurt by this. Many have been. It's enough to make you want to not make friends. But how lonely would that be?

And indeed, they must be. Lonely. Angry. Bitter.

But not me. I've got friends.