A Brother

Whether your brother is biological or developed through a close friendship, it’s important to establish a connection based on mutual respect, care, and concern for each other’s well being. A brother is someone who can help you when you’re down, be with you in the best of times, and help to encourage you when you’re feeling down.

For some reason, it seems more difficult to establish these connections through friendships, as we get older. Perhaps we get more protective of ourselves, a bit more rigid in our thinking, or we’re simply to comfortable with how life is currently, so we don’t put any effort into developing those connections. However, life is missing something quite important if you don’t have someone to call a brother.

I’m quite grateful for a specific friend of mine who I see as a brother. My friend, Jesse helped me during my years of searching or looking for answers. He’s a few years older than me and he’s always remained consistent in his beliefs while I was figuring out my own. What was helpful was that he didn’t impose his beliefs or thoughts on me, simply he just offered his friendship and set a good example – and that’s exactly what I needed in order to develop.

While it’s fun to play around and tease each other, it’s important not to be condescending or disrespectful to those closest to you. Negativity doesn’t encourage anyone. There’s always two ways to deal with conflict and arguments – you can either look at the positive or negative and work from one of those angles. One of those ways is going to be helpful and the other is going to hinder progress. While it’s impossible to be a perfect example, saying sorry when making a mistake heals hurt feelings a lot faster than silence does.

When I was younger, my friendships were pretty much based on whom I could laugh and have a great time with. While those times were fun, they didn’t carry the same amount of substance and depth as my friendships that now have a balance between fun and serious.

Close friendships and reliable buddies can be seen as irrelevant or silly in today’s society. Many movies and messages we get as men try to encourage us as being independent, stubborn, and self-sufficient. While it’s great to be a strong person and have beliefs, there’s a lot more that goes into being successful. It takes care, love, and vulnerability to make a person grow into a strong person. Movies and media have distorted friendships, manhood, and the public’s perception of related values.

Find a brother (or sister) and build a connection - not just so that you have someone to help you out, but so that you can also contribute to his or her life. There’s a certain blessing found in reciprocating kindness and love that can’t be described. But, it’s better than getting any amount of money or obtaining success by yourself. Friendship, brothers, sisters, and family are where the good stuff is at~

For further related reading, please check out: A Place to Call Home.