wistful“Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Don't walk behind me; I may not lead.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
—Albert Camus
I can't imagine it in my head without feeling overwhelmed with a longing for that friend— one who is no better, no worse... who does not see him or herself as teacher or student or leader or follower, not wanting or needing anything, not taking or giving anything, just being... being the self that he or she is, evenly accepting everything about you that makes you who you are, and willingly being connected to the person you are, because it is his or her choice to be all that he or she is in the same space that you are being everything that you are, and, so, the two of you just take the journey of life that each of you will take, walking together, side by side, toward whatever you will find along the road.
When one stumbles, the other will reach out a hand to help get him or her picked up, dusted off, and back on his or her feet, with nothing more to say or do than to keep moving forward, and, it will always be natural for either to do so for the other, with no ulterior expectations between them that anything else should be necessary for either but to always be certain that the other is steadfast in the direction that he or she has chosen, because both have a desire for each other to always be able to do so.
How I long to believe that such a friend exists.
