The Strings We Attach

Many things this week seem to have prompted me to think about people and our attachments to them.

Firstly, I was in touch with a friend I haven't spoken to in a while.

Secondly, I was going through a conversation I'd had with Ben in my mind. He'd said to me that one of the reasons why he loved me was because he "knew that [I] would be amazing whether with or without [him]". While I was thinking about this and feeling inspired by the confidence in me the statement showed, I couldn't help thinking that he was wrong.

You see, as time goes forward, I'm realising more and more how reliant I am specifically on Ben. I'm not just reliant on him to take the bins out or do the washing up (though it is appreciated!) but I'm very emotionally reliant on him. He's not my 'other half' but being with him completes me, raises me and comforts me. My life is much better and more worthwhile with him than it could be without.

Life is nothing without the people we have around us, yet sometimes we treat other people as if they don't have that meaning for us or we are treated that way by others. I don't think there's much that is more painful than losing touch with an old friend and neither one of you being willing to break down the wall between you; and nothing more pleasant than when a loved one you haven't heard from in a long time gets in contact - the time apart being instantly forgiven.

I like to think that everyone feels this way so it always shocks me when people can be unkind to each other for a long time or not just send a text or even a smile in the direction of a 'lost' friend. I think I live life with strings attached.

By that, I mean that I feel a duty to people who come into my life as though they have attached a hook and line to a small piece of my heart. I can't live without these attachments; without feeling that when I enter into a friendship there is a condition and obligation that I must meet. The obligations are love and loyalty and the condition is that I keep it up for as long as possible. This leads to me keeping hold of them, unfortunately, for a long time after the other person has let go. I think I get this trait from my mother!

I know plenty of people who seem completely the opposite; it is easy for them to break bridges it took a long time to build when difficulty comes. They live well and never seem to suffer from the breakdown of friendships because they simply move along.

In my opinion and experience, it is much better to make and keep ties but the pain of the breakdown of those ties shouldn't stop us from seeking for further friendships. Being let down or offended by someone should never cause us to turn our backs on people who might need our friendship.

While we serve asking for nothing in return, we  always get the good we do returned to us by a loving Heavenly Father. So I intend to keep on attaching strings to my heart; they are the things that hold me up and make me feel like I can do anything. Because, in reality, while we may be able to be amazing all by ourselves it's so much more fulfilling to be amazing in the presence of those who equally amaze us every day.