We all need a friend--Tricia McGill

A Heart in Conflict is available here

Everyone who knows me well, knows I am a passionate lover of animals. I watch just about every animal documentary on TV, and support a few wildlife societies. It never ceases to delight me how some species seem to mate for life, and others find true and lifelong friends of a different species. I am left to wonder why some humans can’t take a leaf out of the animals’ books and do likewise. How many of us have a special friend, be it male or female, who knows us almost as well as we know ourselves and know just what we would be likely to do in a given situation. I have been blessed in my life to have had close friends who have stuck by me through the highs and lows.

I had a very interesting conversation with my hairdresser the other day. We were discussing the way of the world and how too many  people seem to spend their lives being jealous, envious or just downright nasty about others who appear to have more than them or are getting on a tad better than they are. So many people seem to despise someone who is ‘getting on in the world’. The tall poppy syndrome seems to abound. Certain people are lauded when they are striving to become better at what they do, but once they achieve stardom, success or show they have excelled in a particular skill, are then subject to criticism. And why are so many obsessed by another’s shape, looks or bank balance? I’m appalled at the number of young people who are having Botox, plastic surgery or similar to alter their shape or looks. Spend more time just being a better person for goodness sake and not a better looking one. Go out and become a volunteer and see how much satisfaction can be gained by helping someone less fortunate, and spend less time worrying about trifling matters such as the size of your breasts or backside.

Take movie stars, and the load of rubbish some have to take on social media or in the glossies. I rarely buy magazines to be honest, and the only chance I get to open one and actually see what is inside their pages is at the hairdresser (again) or in the doctor’s waiting room. How many times I have read that a star is expecting a baby as she so obviously has a ‘bump’, only to learn it was an over-zealous reporter jumping to conclusions. A star is said to be ‘furious’ with her husband or boyfriend because he has been flirting with another woman. How on earth does the writer of this article know this star is so angry? Has the writer ESP so knows what goes on in the other’s mind. Or, was it a close friend of the star perhaps informing them of her fury? Some friend, to disclose her friends’ personal details to a newshound!

Back to my original paragraph about animals and their devotion to each other. I recently read this story about two chimpanzees who spent a combined 58 years in isolation. Jeannie was in a research lab and Terry a zoo, before they were rescued and taken to a sanctuary, where they are now inseparable. They rarely let each other out of sight and spend as much time touching as possible, as if in reassurance that their days of isolation are behind them. It is clear they relish their friendship and freedom. What a wonderful thing to know they have discovered the pleasure to be gained by holding hands with a true friend.

Buy When Fate Decides (Challenge the Heart Book 1)

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