This morning I saw a post about a young boy of 11 who was having "friendship issues" at school and developed depression. Which got me thinking about this quote from Andy Warhol I saw while perusing one of his exhibitions the other day and dissecting the words a little. Ultimately, the sentiment is true if everyone liked everyone, the world would be a happier place. Is that possible though? People are different, personalities chafe, we all have failed relationships and friendships attesting to that. So maybe everyone can't like everyone. Sad, but potentially true. Although what if we change the way in which we like, or even the meaning we apply to the word 'like' a little. Like is a way to compare traditionally, not necessarily feel. We generally like people when they share our ideals, humour, or lifestyle and are therefor comparable. What if we made like into a more respectful meaning than an endearing one. (That's not to say people who share nothing in common with us can't be liked by us. Sometimes the differences create that of endearment.) That way friendships and liking don't necessarily bundle into the same party. You could like someone, respecting their place in the present time, day, place, yet realise you don't have comparable qualities and your lives probably won't intersect again. Shoot them a smile. Send them a pleasantry and be on your way. I used to think that faking pleasantries to people you didn't like was false and pointless but as I've grown that view has changed. As I grew I removed the word hate from my serious vocabulary (it slips out sometimes but infrequently). Hate has serious connotations and a lot of negativity, it takes everything from you to hate something, as apposed to loving something which generally gives you everything back. Hate takes away and love replaces in a simple and common understanding. So what if I see someone I don't like, or even someone I don't know. If I shoot them a smile, a good morning or a wave. No one has lost anything there but the potential gain is great. So liking isn't about being friends. Liking for me is beginning to feel like an understanding not an emotional situation as such. Another saying that seems to fly around, "everyone is fighting their own battles", my battles and yours aren't the same, but when I truly allow myself to understand you have your own, my ability and want to be at the least amicable if not open to getting to know you better, grows. I am not innocent in this. I've made off the cuff comments that could be taken as mean, I've judged and said things that I feel so glad they didn't overhear them. So this will be my goal, to work towards making my life transparent. Get rid of the negative things and replace them with positive things and see how much better my world feels, then maybe if we all did, everyone world may feel a little bit better. A little bit brighter. Just a little more lovely. So like everyone, it doesn't mean you'll know each other forever, but you may change their life (or yours) the same amount in a second as great friends do in a lifetime.
