Make New Friends and Keep the Old, One is Silver and the Other Gold

Note: This is a guest post by Flora Morris Brown of Color Your Life Happy.

This old Girl Scout lyric brings back memories of singing with childhood friends around a glowing campfire. The analogy to precious metals in the song emphasizes the value of friendships.

Every book and article on happiness lists the importance of personal relationships to our joy. It’s not because we get our happiness from others, but because by sharing the happiness we have with others, our own happiness is strengthened. But warm friendships don’t just happen. They must be cultivated and nurtured if they are to be meaningful and long-lasting.

Make new friends and keep the oldHere are some ways I have maintained friendships through the years. Maybe these can help you too.

1. Send occasional greeting cards, not just at Christmas

My friends appreciate greeting cards for the many occasions that fall between Christmases. One friend commented that she didn’t even know they make Thanksgiving cards until she received one from me.

Make someone’s day by sending an unexpected thank you card letting her know what a difference she made in your life. The best time to do this is when you think of an incident or time when this person was especially helpful, supportive or encouraging.

It’s easy to send these cards. You can get a pack of imprinted or blank for under $5. I often address them while I have waiting times””beauty shop under the dryer or dentist waiting room. I keep a supply of stamps so that I’m always ready to dash off these cards.

2. Call a few people you haven’t talked to in a while

Email is my favorite form of communication, but it can’t replace the human voice. On a Saturday or Sunday afternoon I will go through my address book until I land on someone I haven’t talked to in a long time. They are so delighted to have a personal chat.

Short frequent calls work well too. I have one friend who calls on Sunday mornings and says “Hi, just checking in. Is everyone OK? ” If I have anything unusual or interesting to report, I do. Then I ask for an update on her week, and then we’re finished until the next week. Sometimes our calls last longer, of course, but most times they’re brief.

If she gets voice mail she leaves the same message.

3. Be a resource

When I run across a newspaper article, a sale, or a link on the Internet that may be informative or helpful to a free, I send it to them.

When I returned from my family reunion I put one of my cousins in touch with a childhood friend in the same industry.

Another friend mentioned that she is starting a new website to help writers who want to get published. When I went through my email I saw a link in a newsletter that may be a good lead for her.

One girlfriend is taking care of her mother stricken with Parkinson’s disease. When I saw an article in my alumni magazine about new research, I clipped it and mailed it to her.

4. Make lunch or coffee dates

It’s so easy to say “Let’s do lunch sometime.” But if you don’t make a definite date, it’s not likely to happen soon. Sadly the years can slip by if you don’t make a concerted effort to at least touch bases occasionally.

I have three upcoming dates.

5. Be really engaged – listen

When you are visiting with friends, really listen. It’s so tempting to be busy planning what you’re going to say next instead of listening to what they are saying.

Because I’m a big talker, this is my biggest challenge. Whenever my husband and I would return from a party, he would always know so much more about everyone than I did. When I would ask him how he learned so much, he said, “I listen, not talk.”

Since I’ve made it my goal to be a better listener, I notice that friends experience our visits as being so much more enjoyable.

Friends are not people with whom you always agree, or even always get along. Friends are not people you tolerate, but people you celebrate for being who they are.

Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D., an author, coach, speaker, and entrepreneur, has spent her life teaching and inspiring students and professionals. Her passion for motivating others has lead to her upcoming book, Coloring Your Life Happy. From her blog, www.coloryourlifehappy.com she shares tips for living life more harmoniously and abundantly.

This article is part of August 2008 theme: Relationships

Photo by notsogoodphotography

9 Comments

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  2. Great post, Flora! Friends and friendships are something that everyone has strong feelings about. I found “300 Friendship Quotes” that were worth saving and posted it at http://shanelyang.com/2008/08/05/300-friendship-quotes/

    I’ve gone from thinking that friends are everything to me to the exact opposite and everywhere in between, so it helps to know that many great thinkers before me seem to be just as conflicted about the issue. So far, one theme is universal: Good friends are hard to make and hard to keep but well worth the effort if you are lucky enough to find any. : )

  3. Great guest post, when i came to south africa 6 months ago I didn’t know one single person. Now, I have a huge network of friends so I can really connect with your post.

    Cheers,
    Glen

  4. You’re so right, Flora! Just today I had a wonderful talk with a very dear friend. We don’t meet very often, but we keep in contact via telephone and SMS. And when we meet, we enjoy it so much.

  5. @Ulla

    It’s great that we can keep in touch via various means these days. I’m happy you’re doing that.

    @Glen

    Sounds like you’ve practiced many friendship-building techniques. Congrats.

    @Shanel

    You’re right that friendship is no one-dimensional relationship. There are many levels and conflicted issues. Thanks for finding so many friendship quotes.

    @Patty,

    I’m happy that you enjoyed the article. I look forward to learning more about your site.

  6. […] is how I begin my guest blog on Life Optimizer. Read the full article here. Leave a […]

  7. i have no friends and would like some. my wife wont let me have any and like to control everything about me

  8. @captive

    Sounds like you have one important relationship to work on.

  9. […] Make New Friends and Keep the Old, One is Silver and the Other Gold by Flora Morris Brown from Color Your Life Happy […]

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