"... but how are you REALLY doing?"
The best kinds of friends ask these kinds of questions; ones that stir you when you've gone stagnant or throw you a rope when you're in flood waters, as the case may be.
They are the quality of people - the caliber of soul - that care too much to let you settle or go under. Without them, life would be too easy on the one hand and too difficult on the other. It's a truth that looks like a paradox at first glance.
And truth is what these true friends are after. They don't scare easily, they don't duck and cover from real life. They want to unearth the "real you," to drill down to the essence, because they know the "real you" that is at the very core of you and they love it. They want to do what they can to enable the "real you" to bring life to everyone and everything around you. They know that this can happen because you've done that for them.
Other levels of friends may not know that real you as well. Some friends can't stare into the abyss that struggle, disappointment, pain, brokenness and the unknown can present from time to time.
Some may dive deeper into life than you are currently able to. Some may not be able to dive as deeply. Some may spend most of their lives in altogether different waters than you. You can still relate to all friends when your paths cross or your lives' orbits intersect. Certainly enjoy those interactions for what they are.
But, if you aren't content to jet ski across your life's surface but instead you are driven to scuba dive; to explore the depths of consciousness, connection, spirituality, whatever - those best kinds of friends are indispensable.
