We have arrived at the second country of our lives, where friendship is no longer about the urgency of shared ambitions or the bright fever of becoming— but about the steady presence that requires no performance, no proof.
There is a different kind of fire now: not the blaze that announces itself, but the banked coals that have learned to burn on less, to last through winter.
We’ve walked enough seasons together to know what matters and what doesn’t, to sort the urgent from the essential, to meet without needing reasons.
The young think friendship is about constant connection, relentless enthusiasm. But we have learned the grace of intervals, the way true companionship can hold both presence and space, the comfort of picking up mid-sentence after months of silence.
This is the wealth we did not expect: not intensity, but endurance— the kind of roots that deepen slowly, holding steady when the weather turns, asking nothing but what we can honestly give.
How are your friendships different or evolved in your second phase of life
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P.S. If you’d like to wear a daily reminder that you’re Wisdom-in-Progress, I created a small collection of wisdom wear at Be Curious Souls.
P.S.S. You can find videos of my posts at YouTube channel Wisdom-in-Progress