� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
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There have been a few people whom I've talked to in life who believe Westley's philosophy. They've experienced, unfortunately, more hard knocks than the happiness they're due. Thus, it's all too easy for them to adopt this famous line as their philosophy about life.
And once again, proving we're soul sisters indeed, Heather's thoughts in a convo today mirrored something from one of my daydreams about getting through to Abe. Just like we need opposites to understand and learn in life, we need family and friends both to survive in this world. They're equally important.
According to his lil brother, and seeing it first-hand for myself, Abe is very much a "Family first" man with friends coming in at a far distance. (If that makes sense.) I was daydreaming a day or so ago of talking with Abe and giving this impassioned speech about how, yes, family is important and should come first, but friends are just as important. What if you're far from home and have only friends around you? You rely on them a lot (unless you're super independent and introvertive) to be your support circle. They can be there in ways your family cannot. And what if you really have no family? What then? Sometimes they (friends) step in and become a surogate family in that case. And sometimes, which is sad to note, people have less than desirable relatives--a grandpa or dad who's abusive or a mom on drugs or who abuses alcohol.
On the flip side of that, family, as Heather noted, cannot take the role of friends just as friends cannot totally take on the actual role of family. Well, let me amend that. Members of family can be your best friends, but at the same time, someone not related to you can be something to you or do something for you friend-wise that a relative cannot be or do.
Life is complicated. It isn't always happy or carefree, but it isn't just about pain or suffering either. There has to be both for us to learn anything or to get anywhere. And we need both family and friends to get through life and find safe harbors from the tempest that life often is.
*Why did I write this? It was sparked by one of the convos my best bud and I had today.
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