Yesterday we visited with some friends we haven’t seen for a while. You know those kind of friends with whom you just fall right back in as if no time has passed at all?

At first there are hugs all around, followed by the requisite interval of catching up on everything you’ve missed, and then the mooring lines are cast off and the conversation leaves the dock free to go wherever it may go from deep moments of vulnerable transparency to another joke and another laugh that pops us all back to the surface for a little air and the next bite of a fantastic meal and yes, of course you can top off my glass, please and thank you.

The next thing you know hours have effortlessly flown by and we head home contentedly full of food and drink and having reaffirmed all that is most important in life, and satisfied that we’ve also indulged in just the right amount of gossip. Because honestly, what is more devilishly satisfying than leaning in to talk about other people?

I like to think I am a curious and feeling person and I love and adore other curious feeling people. I love a conversation where everyone is waiting for an opportunity, not to make the next declaration but to ask the next question. The best conversations are mutual interviews. That kind of communion only happens between people with whom you click. You can’t fake it. And it goes way beyond whether you love someone. That kind of easy communion only comes from being with people you actually like, and there’s nothing like it.

I love Tina, I’d give my life for her, but the reason we spend so much time together is not how much we love each other but how much we like each other.

I’m not exactly sure what the point is of sharing this with you. Very much like last night’s conversation I had no master plan in mind as I started to emote. I suppose it’s just me acknowledging something I find very special in this life and hoping that it hasn’t been too long since you’ve had one of those meaningful moments with people you just really really like.

If so, then you know the joy of which I speak. If not, today is a perfect day to think about spending time with someone you like and making a plan.

I know three things about good friends …

The best way to find one is to be one.

Life is dry and tasteless without them.

And good friends are an absolute necessity for everyone who plans to build themselves a beautiful life.