How important friendship is
This article was originally published in German. The English version is an automatic translation and may contain errors. The German original is authoritative.
Only in the desert do you realise
how much you'd like a glass of water
what you consider in everyday life to be completely normal
and utterly self-evident.
Only when diving do you realise
how precious every breath is
only when breathlessness
eats away at you from within.
Only when you are trapped
whether in reality or just in your thoughts
only then do you realise
how wonderful freedom is.
And only when you are alone with your problems
and alone with yourself
only then do you realise
how important friendship is.
A hand that pulls you up
when you are at rock bottom.
A hand that gives you love
when you have forgotten what that even is.
A hand that holds yours
when everything else collapses in on itself
and a hand that lets you go
and guides you in the right direction.
An eye that sees you
yourself and what you feel.
An embrace that surrounds you
that squeezes you and holds you together.
An ear that hears you
whether you laugh, cry or scream
and a heart that beats both with you
and for you.
But only when you are alone with your problems
and alone with yourself
only then do you realise
how important friendship is.
The kind of friendship
that nothing can separate two people from
not distance, not conflict
neither hatred, love nor change.
Because it goes deeper
than any other feeling.
Friendship that never fades away
and will surely last forever.
That climbs the highest mountain
penetrates every labyrinth, however convoluted
crosses the deepest ocean
and teaches one to love life and oneself.
The kind that simply shares everything
every memory and daydream
that lets you be completely yourself
Only that kind of friendship sets you free.
But only when you are alone with your problems
and alone with yourself
only then do you realise
how important friendship is.
It doesn't matter at all
how long you have known each other
whether three days, weeks, years
or a whole lifetime
because time is not measured
in seconds that you share,
but in moments and experiences
and the wounds that you heal.
In every smile, every tear
every dark look
and this warmth that you feel
when the other person surrounds you.
If you know all that
you have tremendous luck
just as I do with you
you are an enormous part of me.
You never leave me alone
not with my problems or with myself.
You have shown me
how important friendship is.
I just want to tell you, I am grateful for you.