As cheesy as some of my daily text fortunes are, there are times when one hits home.  This morning, "Friendship is a mirror" arrived to my cell phone and I stopped what I was doing and thought about how true it is.  Friends and friendships are mirrors in many ways, both superficially and deeply. 

Take honesty for example; how can one be honest with his/herself without being honest with his/her friends?  Friends help us see the real us through their actions - if our friends are true friends.  Friends won't hold back any aspects of who they are, if we share of ourselves and make it safe for them to share themselves.  I've had friends who have held back important aspects of themselves and I have to wonder if they were true friends or perhaps I did not make them feel safe enough to share with me.  I wonder if they thought I would judge them, which - if they were truly a friend, I would not.  For friends love and accept true friends for who they are.  I was guilty of withholding information from friends because of my own self-shame and being scared of being rejected, however, thinking back, I think it was more my own low self-esteem that held me back than not feeling safe in divulging that I was far from perfect.

Friends mirror how we treat our families; if we treat our families badly, surely we'll treat friends badly.  Although some family members are out of control and we justify feeling and acting badly towards them, at some point we will undoubtedly treat a friend in the same manner.  I treated my sister in this manner and although I felt justified in "tough love," I should not have called her names and ridicule her as I did.  The truth is, I can have my own devastating circumstances in the blink of an eye.  I had a friend who was involved in drugs and I tried and tried to help her - why didn't I help my sister?  The friend shut me out - but not my sister, she almost begged for my help, through her actions.  I cannot change the past but I can change the future and how I deal with my sister and it will make a difference.  In fact, it is making a difference now.  It's making a difference in how I view people with similar problems and how I try to help because who knows what a difference it can make - no matter how insignificant. 

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am aware of all I have to be thankful for and the thankfulness runs deep.  I know, without a doubt, I would not be where I am today without my friends and family.  They've helped me through the tough times and celebrated the good times.  I am blessed, indeed.   I am thankful to all my friends, far and near. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all and your loved ones (even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving)!