The See-Saw

It becomes difficult to maintain friendships as time passes. As you all mature and grow up into different people, you sometimes lose the things you once had in common with each other.
Sometimes as much as you try to keep the connection there and as much effort as you throw into it, you are just not the same as you both were. The parties that once gave you a reason to bond, are no longer as frequent. And eventually, you grow out of the house party phase, the club phase, the reckless phase. Eventually, you are more sophisticated, more relevant and more in touch with what truly matters in your life. Eventually your paths are heading in different directions and there is no common link anymore, the easy flowing conversations have faded into awkward 'what do I ask about now?' moments.

Other times, friendships are simply not made to last. There is no guarantee where you can return the 'malfunctioning' friend or a time-back refund. Sometimes, you have to let go of the anger and hurt and just accept that people will not always make the same effort that you do. Or perhaps the coin is flipped, and it is you not making enough effort. There are times when you just have to let yourself accept that you have tried your best, but it was not embraced by your friend with open arms. I like to think of friendship like a see-saw - it doesn't work one-way.

The memories are never forgotten, the good vibes are still present in each others company. Sometimes friendships just naturally slip into acquaintances. And sometimes that is okay.

The energy one saves when coming to this weight-lifting epiphany can be a huge relief for your soul that may have been struggling to understand what is not quite clicking with one or more of your friends.

So if you have had this feeling on your heart for a while, wondering where you stand and why your attempts have gone unrecognised, don't carry the burden of uncertainty and defeat. Just accept that someone got off the see-saw. It was fun while it lasted and you'll be alright.