Loving People

“Learn to love the people with you and love them as they need to leave and as you need to leave. If nothing else, heaven will be full of old friends.”
~ Journal, April 2008

I have mentioned several times by now that I went down to South America for six months. I met many, many people and some of them became good friends. I may never return to Chile and I am almost certain none of these new friends will be able to visit me up here.

There comes a point during life when you look around and realize that in 5 years or so many of the people you interact with, whom you call friends will be gone, long gone- moving on with their lives without giving a thought to you or the friendship they once had with you no matter how strong the friendship was. I came to that point during high school once but- looking around at my friends- I wanted them to go on without me and I would contentedly go on without giving them a thought either. The second time that thought occurred to me I was in college all of my friends – who were older than me- were graduating and I still had a year or two left. I refused to believe it would happen and with a couple (partially thanks to facebook) it has not yet happened though there is time for that too.

I was in Chile and I had a decision to make- my time there was short as was the plan. I did not need to make these people my friends (with some it did take a bit of effort and with others it just happened without trying) why should I make them good friends… I was going to leave them in a couple months and they would go on with their lives just as they had always planned to do without a thought to me or to the friendship we had. It would be easier on my heart if I didn’t love these people, if I didn’t become attached, if I kept them all at an arms distance, and thought of them as acquaintances and not as friends.

My choice? I loved them. I held them dear. I did my best to make them know how much I treasured them for as long as I had them near me. And when it is possible I reach out and keep those friendships still hanging on even though we are countries (and in some ways—years) away from each other.

Was it the right choice? HHmm, for now I say yes and I don’t know that I will ever regret making that decision but it is still too soon to say for sure. Love is not something that runs out, I do not think one day I will find out I am out of love to give and wish I had not given so much of it to people I can no longer be in contact with.

Love to all! Y Besitos tambien! (Anna, Angelica, JP, Mama’, Papa’, Manolo, Felipe, Jonathan, Vicente, Mati, Isabel, Melissa, Rachel, Benjamin, Andrea, Vicente V., Caroline, Juan, Andres, Fabiola, Fabian, Raquelita, Min, Danny, Matias, Zach, Kristen, and every one else I do not have room to name- even though many of you will never read this because either you are too little or because it is in English)
Lizzi