Echoes.... maybe THESE people (people with good friend potential) are not currently in your life. But we meet and see new people every day. Maybe some of the skills you've been practicing in therapy can help you make connections outside your existing circle?

Here is a really good example I had recently that would have NEVER happened in...the time before T. My kids play sports so often I end up sitting on some sideline doing work,reading, posting messages on PC, or engaging in superficial chatting with another parents who are bored too. Well one evening, one of the other ...soccer moms made a casual comment that captured the attention of the deeper me. Amazingly I actually responded from this deeper me with a little deeper than expected response. I could tell by the woman's expression that my response surprized her but we both just kind of let the conversation go. Then two weeks later, this women calls me up out of the blue (had gotten my phone number from another parent) and invites me to her home for a small informal gathering to discuss spirituality kind of stuff...Well, this totally shocked me, but reluctantly accepted the invitation. I've gone to a few get togethers at her house and really enjoyed the interactions. We are now friends and although I am still very protective of my inner circle...she has good friend potential.

The bottom line is... 2 years ago, I wouldn't have had a "deep" response--my depth was locked deep inside. Also, I wouldn't have projected a positive enough vibe to appear approachable or remotely interested to even be invited to a spirituality discussion. Also when I received the unexpected call... I would not have had the ability work through my resistance to accepting the invitation. Finally, there would have been no way in hell that I would have had the confidence to actually show up and talk about my beliefs with a bunch of total strangers.

So, prior to T the potential for me making this connection and converting it into a friendship would have been very unlikely. People are out there looking for nurturing, stimulating, engaging friends too. We just have to be able to see them and then risk taking actions to make a connection.

This makes me think about renting the Morgan Freemen movie "Ten Items or Less" again. I LOVE THAT MOVIE!