The ecstasy of friendship

As soul crushing as it is to have a friend like the one I described in my last post, where it is such a shame that that friendship is no longer, I also thank my lucky stars for many of the other people who have floated into my circle and had a positive impact. Here is the story of one such gem…

I have done two Contiki tours in my time, both around Europe, and I truly loved those experiences for so many reasons, but most of all because I got to meet and make friends from all over the world that I still have to this day. Of course I don’t still speak to all of them, but I have become very close with one in particular, and the way this started off took me pleasantly by surprise.

My first Contiki to Europe in 2009 was the most glorious whirlwind. It was my first trip overseas by myself, a three month party that I had saved two years for. I met so many great people and after three weeks on a tour bus, the thirty or so guys and girls I shared my adventure with were like family.

I kept in touch with many in the years after the tour ended, and in Melbourne a few years later I caught up with one Contiki sister, who I hadn’t even really been that buddy buddy with on tour, but who I still had had a blast with. We went out for dinner and then laid on the grass in Fed Square and watched the tennis on the big screen in the close January heat, and when I said that one day I wanted to move from Perth to Sydney or Melbourne, she said so genuinely that she would love it if I moved to Melbourne, even if it wasn’t for a few years. I was so taken aback, gobsmacked that someone could be so chuffed at the thought of being able to hang out more. Someone so awesome and gorgeous, seemingly who had it all, was excited to become better friends with me? This did not normally happen to me.

Ever since that night I have often gone to Melbourne to visit her, and she has come to Sydney, and we have grown very close, sharing our darkest secrets and fears. When I got my job at Qantas she was one of the first people I told, and last year I was one of the first people she told she was pregnant. And then just a few months ago she asked me to do a reading at her wedding.

I just find it so funny how we were not even that close on Contiki, but now she is one of my best friends, despite living in a different state to me. That she trusted me with all her secrets, offloaded so many worries to me, as I did to her, and is so supportive of everything I do. What a terrific friend. If only all friends were like that. I got a tear in my eye when she asked me to be a part of her wedding – the most special day of her life – and knew I would move the earth for her if she asked me to.

And that is what I think friends should be. They should move the earth for you if that’s what you need. True friends would not even hesitate. I am so lucky to have several friends who are like this, and I hope they know that I too would move the earth for them, if they so asked. Nothing is too much trouble when you are true friends.

Jorgs x