Meaningful Friendships Part 2: Why We Need MEANINGFUL Friendships

Meaningful friendships serve many purposes.  As humans, we are intended to live in relationship with one another.   Friends encourage us to be our best, help us to understand ourselves, share with us in the ups and downs of life, and help us access the world in new and unique ways. 

Friends are a reflection of who we are now and who we long to become.    They help us to find meaning and direction in our lives.  We aspire to be like them and therefore we are constantly seeking ways to improve upon ourselves.   Our relationships with others are catalysts that set in motion forces to inspire us to better ourselves. Genuine friends encourage us to be the best version of ourselves. 

Authentic friendships offer opportunities to share experiences with others, both good and bad.    When two people share an experience, they are able to relate to one another on a variety levels.   As friends engage in experiences together, they grow closer to one another.   This is especially true when the trials are meaningful and intense, such as the joy of having children or the sadness of losing a loved one.  

Friends provide us with support throughout the hard times in our lives.  When we experience the inevitable tough trials and tribulations of life, such as the loss of a job or a problem with our health, our friends comfort us.  They can be there to simply listen as we express our despair, hug and to hold us as we break down, and build us back up by inspiring us and strengthening our desires to move forward.     

Friends resound in our joys and triumphs.  When we get accepted to college, earn a promotion at work, or meet the love our lives, friends are there to lift us up and celebrate us.   They motivate and encourage us to succeed in our endeavors and to strive for new and loftier goals. 

Friends of those of us with Autism Spectrum Disorders often serve as advocates for our needs.  They are crucial bridges that connect our Autistic world with that of the Neurotypical.  They empower us to undertake new endeavors and create ways for us to enjoy them together.  Genuine friends are undeterred by our weirdness and oddities and provide us with invaluable feedback regarding our social performances.   They praise us for the areas in which we are doing well and enlighten us as to which domains we need to persist in developing.   Our friends allow us to reveal our true character while shaping us into better people. 

It is through our friends that we learn to proclaim the successes of others, revel in others’ joy, and even share the burdens others carry.   Meaningful friendships provide us with positive influences, self-confidence, a sense of being needed, valued, and worthy, and a means of human connection.   Without meaningful relationships our lives would be monotonous, lonely, and barren.   I am eternally grateful for the many meaningful friendships I have had in my life, both past, present, and future.