Another time

when someone else said it so much better

This came from Jesh DeRox's blog and says so poignantly what I've been thinking about alot lately -

"If someone has been a friend to you.....a good one, a real one, someone who has given you something that no one else ever exactly has,,,

then be slow to give up on them, find it in your heart to see them with patience.

if they are quiet, seem to be acting differently than you've come to expect or maybe not giving at the level you are used to, perhaps they are in hibernation, playing dead in an attempt to survive a pain or a difficulty stronger than they know how to handle gracefully.
be slow to believe the worst; assumption is a ruinous and untrustworthy advisor.

the surface of something is most always the smallest percentage of it. look at how much of what is vital about you exists beneath your skin.

things are rarely as they appear, and when you judge something before its time, you separate yourself from much worth experiencing - like biting into and spitting out a sour apple, weeks before it is ripe.

the butcher's knife of condemnation is good for little but making bloody messes.

sometimes people need room to grow. what benefit is it to you to hold other people to your measurements? perhaps they travel in a different direction than you have been, are dealing with a terrain that has different challenges than your own, and at a different speed. there is no way for you to know for sure.

even if an assumption is popular, it doesn't make it true. a thousand people staring at the surface will see no deeper than one, and lend no more credence. watch for the tendency for your fears to give such shallow perception non-existent weight.

in this world of flux and flex, an open heart and a ready shoulder are often the best gift you can give to a friend who's going through a rough time. and, those being offered, a peaceful space - so they can find their way through their mazes at their own pace.

good friends are worth the wait.

remember we often receive in relation to what we have given; you never know when it may be your turn to face the lonely mountain passes. believe me, they are more easily overcome with the help of good friends."

If I could just get that zoom right, this would be a pretty cool photo. :) Silly boy!