I have been so fortunate in my life to have wonderful friends. From very young to now, and while the circle of friends from the early days may have shrunk a little bit I am extremely lucky. On Ikaria too I have made many friends and the image above epitomises the beauty of friendship and community. On this day, a couple of weeks ago now, with friends, both old and new we walked to a hidden chapel, mentioned before. I had the chance to take a photograph of a number of people I know and some of whom I count as friends. They’ve gone home now, but their warmth remains and that will be a blanket for the winter months, which, by common consent, are seriously hard here. For them and for me I wanted to share this and then some words by Kahlil Gibran.
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
Kahlil Gibran
Si Claridge Photography 