A Friendship Lost

On a more serious note....

Have you lost a friendship?

Friendships can be a rewarding part of our life; they can also be a difficult part of our life.

It's sad to lose a friend regardless of how it comes about; whether they move away, you move away, whether you lose touch with a friend who lives close, or whether a good friend dies. Obviously death is permanent and a loss which can't be mended, only the feeling lessened over time. Moving away is difficult but you can continue to keep in touch with each other across the miles.

Probably the most difficult of all would be losing touch with a good friend who lives close by. Sometimes friends just grow apart. Sometimes to lose touch with someone close means there has been a misunderstanding that has caused hard feelings of one sort or another. This could be mended if both people are willing to have discussions but not possible if only one wants it to work.

What I find frustrating is the situation that places a barrier between friends that comes about when members of both friends' families have had a falling out. Just because my family member had a disagreement with a family member of my friend doesn't necessarily mean that we as friends should carry this disagreement into our friendship. This has happened to me and I get annoyed (and hurt to think the friendship meant so little). It's almost like a 'guilt by association' situation. If I was present when a bank was being robbed, would I be guilty of the robbery just because I was there? On yet a more serious note, if I happened to be walking past the place where a murder was taking place, would I be guilty of the murder.......would I be guilty because I was nearby? I would like to think the answer to both would be NO and yet losing a friendship because of a disagreement of family members or even someone associated with both parties, happens........disheartening to be part of this.

Would you make your friend pay the price of a disagreement of someone else, (perhaps if that someone else is someone you love very much)?
Separate that disagreement from your friendship; it should not stand in the way.