Friendship
“All friendships of any length are based on a continued, mutual forgiveness. Without tolerance and mercy all friendships die.”
-David Whyte, poet and philosopher from Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words
The book is available on his website: https://davidwhyte.com/
David Whyte’s conversation with Sam Harris on Sam’s podcast “Making Sense”
C.S. Lewis said of friendship that it is “one of those things which gives value to survival.”
Full passage:
“FRIENDSHIP is a mirror to presence and a testament to forgiveness. Friendship not only helps us see ourselves through another’s eyes, but can be sustained over the years only with someone who has repeatedly forgiven us for our trespasses as we must find it in ourselves to forgive them in turn. A friend knows our difficulties and shadows and remains in sight, a companion to our vulnerabilities more than our triumphs, when we are under the strange illusion we do not need them. An undercurrent of real friendship is a blessing exactly because its elemental form is rediscovered again and again through understanding and mercy. All friendships of any length are based on a continued, mutual forgiveness. Without tolerance and mercy all friendships die.”
