The One-Minute Friend

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Published by Rachelle Disbennett-Lee
Friday, December 7, 2001
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It is wonderful to have friends that last a lifetime. I am blessed to have several friends in my life that I have had for years. I am also blessed to have many "One-Minute Friends." One-minute friends are those people that come into our lives for a short time.

One-minute friends don't have to last just one minute in time, although they can. I have met one-minute friends in line at the grocery store, at the petting zoo, or in a class. They last as long as the event does and when the event is over so is the friendship. One-minute friends are important because they help enrich the time that we are spending here on earth. Doing something with someone is often more fun than doing it alone and one-minute friends offer us companionship, if only for a minute.

One-minute friends can also last for an extended amount of time. Perhaps they are a neighbor that we live next to for only a short time, or a friend at work, or someone we share a common interest with. One-minute friends come into our lives for a reason. Each person, that we have contact with, teaches us something. They also learn from us. Once we have both received the gifts that the other brings to us in the form of life lessons the one-minute friend will move on.

I used to think that there was something wrong with me because people would come in and out of my life like there was an invisible revolving door that I could not see. Now I realize that not everyone we meet is going to be a life long friend and that is OK. Most of our friends will only stay for a while. People are in our lives for a reason and when that reason is no longer there they leave. Instead of being sad that friends come and go, it helps to look at the gifts that we have received and be happy for the time we had with our one-minute friends.

Coaching

Friends will come and go. It is natural. I feel blessed to have had so many people come into my life and support and teach me along the way. One-minute friends are an important part of life because they enrich our experiences.

It may feel like friends breeze in and out of our lives. This can be a sad thing or we can shift our perception to realize that it is a very positive thing. One-minute friends help us enjoy events more, get through difficult times, and even teach us life lessons. They are the threads of life that enrich our experiences and sew together who we are.

Have you taken the time to appreciate your one-minute friends that you have met along the way?

Daily Success Formula

Supporting + Short Term + Fun + Common interest = One-minute friends

Quotes

"A hedge between keeps friendship green." Traditional Proverb

"Every man passes his life in the search after friendship." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Friendship demands the ability to do without it." Ralph Waldo Emerson