Monthly Archives: March 2012

When Are We Better Off Alone?

photo by Alejandra Mavroski

“‘Tis better to be alone, than in bad company.” -George Washington

Some of us like being alone more than others. I’m in the former camp. Me, a book, a burger, and a beer? Beautiful! There are few things I like better than slipping away for an evening out by myself to relish anonymity and quiet among the crowds.

When I think of us echoing George Washington’s words–perhaps to our children–I think that sometimes words are easy for us to say simply because they’re catchy. We hear a phrase we like, we latch onto it and repeat it without ever stopping to think about what it really means.

But when George Washington says, “’Tis better to be alone, than in bad company,” what does he mean by “bad company”? Who defines “bad”? Because none of us really think we’re spending our free time hanging out with shady characters, do we?

As I thought about this idea, I considered my own friendships. I thought about the ebb and flow, about how sometimes I take more and sometimes I give more. I thought about the time I sat across from my girlfriend and poured my parenting heart out while she listened and encouraged me to hang in there. I thought about the time I spent comforting another friend, whose husband decided that 15 years of marriage was enough for him. I thought about how this ebb and flow is critical to long-term friendship, because none of us can be on the giving side all of the time. And if you’re not taking sometimes, you’re not giving your friends the opportunity to really know you, so you’re not developing a long-term friendship after all. You’re just having coffee.

As I pondered this, I began to wonder about those people—the ones who are always givers or always takers—and I wondered if they fall in the “bad company” category?

Would it be better to spend time alone?

Link up below with your thoughts on these wise words  (details here).

 

Wise Words: ‘Tis Better to Be Alone…

“‘Tis better to be alone, than in bad company.” -George Washington

Hmmm…what do you think of that quote? I think it’s no surprise that he was our first president!

photo by Alejandra Mavroski

If you’d like to weigh in on the Wise Words series this week, reflect on what these words mean to you and write about it. Post your thoughts on your blog this Wednesday, then link up here. (click for more details).

I can’t wait to read your thoughts.

What Writers Have to Say About True Friendship

Thoughtful writers make me smile! There are few things I enjoy more than connecting with others who express themselves so well that they keep me nodding in agreement–or persuade me to think about something I haven’t previously considered. This is exactly what’s happened with the Wise Words series.

In last week’s Wise Words post the topic was Friendship, based on this quote from Henry David Thoreau:

“How often we find ourselves turning our backs on our actual friends, that we may go and meet their ideal cousins.”

As I read through other bloggers & writers responses to the same quote, I reveled in the profundity of their words. Here are three posts that will make you stop and think about the friendships you cherish:

Velveteen Mama wrote poignantly, with insight and depth, about a true friendship she regrets losing. As she’s grown older and wiser, she says this:  “It may be idealistic, but it seems as though that’s the only way to tap into what friendships can really bring into our lives if we are brave enough to choose it.”

Lindsey, at A Design So Vast, impressed me both with her use of the word ‘lacuna’ and usual sagacity. She begins by saying, “Thoreau’s words remind of the adage that the perfect is the enemy of the good,” and it gets better from there.

Dina, at More from Mom, ruminates that “new and shiny is not necessarily better,” as she celebrates the friends she loves.

I’ll post this week’s quote later today. Love to have you join in on Wednesday (details here)!