Friendship

A conversation about friendship yesterday made me really think. We discussed the expense of friendship in this fast-paced urban world of ours. There is the scheduling, the rendezvous, the transportation plan, the event, the meal and so on. So complicated and often so expensive. And I was shocked to realize that I have become accustomed to this rather unintentionally. What ever happened to the simple conversational visit, which was punctuated by a cup of tea or a walk? Well, the telephone has fed our impatience and laziness. We call. We chat. But we do not really share that time in space. A phone call seldom becomes a valued memory. There is the geographic separation caused by high housing prices in cities and cars. We tend to live farther apart in this American culture, where mobility has become a poor substitute for community. We spend more time sharing highways with strangers than sharing village squares with our friends. I try to practice a gentle and intentional friendship with my neighbors, urbanites who are quite reserved and skeptical. I would like to make a better effort at incorporating simple and less eventful visits with my friends in the future.