The Power of Friendship

 

I recently asked my “friends” on Facebook why they love Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, one of the most common answers was that they love being together with friends on the holiday. Sure, family was the number one response, but almost as frequently I heard people extol about how they enjoyed being with friends for the holiday.

This certainly is true for me and my family.

This Thanksgiving, as we have for many years, we celebrated the holiday together with our friends from Cleveland, Barry and Eileen Gordon. We have been best friends for over 40 years, since we met when we were all graduate students in Cambridge. For many of those years we have all gathered together for Thanksgiving. They have two girls, Nora and Jessie, and we have two sons Dan and Adam. Now they are almost all married (my son, Dan, will be married in March) and we have two grandchildren between us.

Friendships are even important in the workplace. Research from the Gallup organization shows that having a “best friend” at work is one of twelve predictors of a healthy workplace, as defined by employee retention, customer metrics, productivity, and profitability.

To remind us of the importance of friendship in our lives, I have compiled lyrics from some of my favorite songs about friendships. Here they are: 

“There are places I remember,
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all”
-Beatles, “In My Life”

“When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine.
If I’d been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I’m sixty-four”
-Beatles, “When I’m Sixty-Four”

“Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That’s what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I’ll be on your side forever more
That’s what friends are for”
-Burt Bacharach – “That’s What Friends Are For”

“I keep my friends eternally
We leave our tracks in the sound
Some of them are with me now
Some of them can’t be found
It’s a long road behind me
And I miss you now
If you follow every dream
You might get lost
If you follow every dream
You might
Get Lost.”
-Neil Young, “The Painter”

“When you’re down in troubles
And you need some love and care
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon i will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night
You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you got to do is call
And I’ll be there
Yes I will
You’ve got a friend”
-Carole King, “You’ve Got a Friend”

 

Please share your thoughts and suggestions on the power of friendships in your life with me in the comments section below.