Friends, friends, friends, friends....

I just read an article in the New York Times that says that friendships have a bigger impact on a person than their familial and spousal relationships.

People with a group of 10 close friends or more have been shown to be 22% more likely to live longer, to have better brain health and to overcome crises.

That's a pretty big deal.

In fact, friends can change your outlook so much that you are 60% more likely to be obese if your friends start gaining weight. (Well, you jump i jump; you eat i eat too?)

Last year, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill.
Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone.
The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.
“People with stronger friendship networks feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen A. Roberto, director of the center for gerontology at Virginia Tech. “Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”

Aaawww.. heart-warming? The clear indication being, if you're going to put yourself through some harrowing trials and tribulations, best to grab a good friend and set out to do it. (Climb Mount Kinabalu guys??)

But enough quoting an article, the point being last week at a high school semi-reunion, it was nice to know that despite 10 years of knowing each other, a significant number of us still keep in touch and don't hate each others' guts enough to go into avoidance mode.
There are too many people I don't meet up with enough, catch up with, learn more about, have good conversations with... and despite the distance, sometimes it's just because we don't make the effort.
It's a lot harder to find out what someone thinks of the world as opposed to 'what did you think about that guy who sang on American Idol last night'. One takes an hour of your life watching a show, the other needs you to take time building a relationship and breaking down walls.
But it's always really rewarding to be able to count yourself as a friend for the unlikeliest candidates. And more often than not, I gain philosophical sparring partners too. (What's the fun in everyone agreeing all the time?)

So, to all my friends from every walk of life from every corner of the world. Thank you and let's reconnect! This one's for you....