Finding Friendship at Viva Village

C.S. Lewis The Four Loves (adapted):

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’

I’ve been thinking lately about the gift of friendship: how many kinds of friends there are, how each is valuable, and how, together, they shape the people we become. What do we receive from the friends who join us at different stages of life, and what do we carry forward from them?

There are childhood friends who are our playmates and schoolmates and help usher us through our formative years. From them we learn about loyalty, kindness, and how other families may look different than our own. They expand our world.

Each kind of friendship seems to teach us something different. Childhood friends teach us how to belong; work friends show us how companionship can grow from shared purpose; neighbors teach us the comfort of being known in a particular place. Together, these friendships reveal that no single relationship has to meet every need in order to matter.

Some friendships are brief, yet their influence can be lasting. A friend may introduce us to a new place, a new interest, or a new way of understanding ourselves and the world. A friendship may end simply because life moves on, while the change it brought remains.

And then there are the friendships that endure across time and space. In these relationships you can pick up a conversation midsentence after months or years apart. These friendships supply ballast to our lives, allowing us to better weather hardship and loss.

Even as we cherish the friendships that have sustained us, every stage of life offers the possibility of forming new connections that can bring companionship, purpose, and joy.

Viva Village offers many opportunities for friendships of all kinds to blossom and grow. Book groups, music groups, dining groups, and walking groups make it easy to meet other Villagers around shared interests. Volunteering creates another path to connection through sharing time, skills, and working toward a common purpose.

By Roberta S Lang, Viva Villager. Several Viva Village activities are open to the public. For more information, check the Viva Village website: vivavillage.org.