Having just got back from Bali visiting one of my oldest and dearest friends, I am overflowing with feelings of friendship, joy and love.
In honor of the power of friendship, I thought I’d share some of my favorite friendship quotes with you.
If you are a regular reader, you’ll know I love a good quote! (More on this after the post).
Let’s dive into some awesome friendship quotes.
A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.” – Jim Morrison
Jim was definitely onto something with this one! The quote is all the good stuff dear to my heart – friendship, freedom and being yourself.
You can always be yourself around your close friends. No pretending; no trying to impress anyone; no trying to come across as someone or something you’re not. Just being yourself, in all your messy beautiful glory. That’s precious.
It is one of the blessing of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
And yes you can be stupid around them without judgment as well. Perfect!
Friends….they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.” – Henry David Thoreau
Good friends can support us like no other. Our families might be critical of our hopes and dreams but our friends stand beside us, believing in us and loving us regardless.
A friend is someone who makes it easy to believe in yourself.” – Heidi Wills
Our friends believe in us even when we stumble and temporarily forget to believe in ourselves.
Our friends are the ones who help pick us up, shake us off, remind us how amazing we are and kick-start us believing in ourselves again.
True friends aren’t the ones who make your problems disappear. They are the ones who won’t disappear when you’re facing problems.” – Unknown
The truth of the matter is a lot of the time our friends can’t directly help us with our problems.
They can’t make our problems disappear but they are the ones who stand by us and support us while we work through our challenges. Whilst working through problems is our responsibility, our friends help us indirectly and that means a lot.
Some souls just understand each other upon meeting.” – N. R. Hart
This one made me feel all warm and fuzzy so I just had to include it!
Sitting silently beside a friend who is hurting may be the best gift we can give.” – Unknown.
Anyone who has suffered through the grieving process knows this one is true.
When you have suffered a devastating loss like the death of a loved one, words sometimes just don’t cut it. Sometimes a dear friend silently sitting beside you is the best gift.
Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together.” – Woodrow Wilson
There is something about the simplicity of this quote that I just adore. Friendship holds us together despite our differences, despite distance and despite our challenges.
This quote reminds me how powerful friendship can be.
The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just have to find the ones worth suffering for.” – Bob Marley
At first glance this one might seem negative but on closer inspection it’s not.
It’s natural that we are going to be disappointed, upset, frustrated and sometimes angry at people since we all have our own set of values and beliefs. Conflicting values and beliefs means that we are sometimes going to disagree on things or view a situation differently.
Most of the time the hurt is unintentional (and yes sometimes I realize it’s not!)
Find the ones who are worth it.
The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” – Elizabeth Foley
This is definitely one of the amazing things about a true friend – you don’t have to be living in each others pockets or see each other all the time (though don’t me wrong, seeing our friends and spending time with them is a wonderful thing).
But with so many people living in different cities, states and countries it’s all about the connection.
When you have that connection, it’s easy to take up where you left off. Connection allows you to grow separately without growing apart.
A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become and still gently allows you to grow.” – William Shakespeare
Life is about growth so naturally we want our friends to accept us when we change and grow.
Whilst some people resist change and for reasons of their own don’t want us to grow and evolve, our true friends do – even when it means there may be shifts in the relationship.
Friends become our chosen family.” – Unknown
I fully appreciate that family is important.
One of the amazing things about family however is that you don’t have to related to them for them to be your ‘family’. You don’t have to be related to people to love, cherish and support them.
As an adopted child, I worked this one out early. Friends can be your chosen family.
Having a soulmate is not always about love. You can find your soulmate in a friendship too.” – Unknown.
I could not agree with this one more. There are many different types of love. Soulmates are about connection. When we have that in our friendships, it’s very special.
Sometimes your circle decreases in size, but increases in value.” – Dulce Ruby
This is probably the toughest thing about friendship. Sometimes we lose our friends.
Friendships end, people change, relationship evolve and people who were once a massive part of our lives are no longer in them. It can be a difficult adjustment and at times we feel heartbroken.
Yet often when our circle of friends decreases, the value of our friendships increases. It’s a quality over quantity scenario.
Making a friend and maintaining a friendship are two different things.” – Sonya Teclai
So true. Just like romantic relationships, friendships need to be nurtured and not taken for granted. They need time, commitment, attention and patience.
The plus side is that true friendship feels easy.
It’s the friends that you can call at 4 am in the morning that matter.” – Marlene Dietrich
I have always believed this one. The people who you can wake up in the middle of the night who will run to your side or be there for you, no matter what – are what true friendship and love is all about.
As lovely as acquaintances are (and they are an enriching part of our lives) they most likely aren’t going to be there at 4 in the morning, when life throws us a curve ball.
Something important to remember though is that an acquaintance can turn into something more. Don’t rule people out. Time, circumstances and life’s twists and turns can turn an acquaintance into a great friend.
There are no strangers here; Only friends who haven’t yet met.” – William Butler Yeats
I love this one because it’s about possibility.
It’s about the friends we are going to make and the people who we might think at first glance we don’t have much in common with but turn out to be more in sync with us than we imagined.
This one reminds me that we are all human. It reminds me that we all live, love, cry and smile no matter what country we live in.
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” – C.S. Lewis
It’s so great when this happens. The other great thing of course, is that it can happen when you least expect it. It’s that amazing bonding moment when you discover you have things in common.
The great thing is these commonalities don’t have to be about the latest trends or what’s popular in the news. They can be about your charming quirks which you thought were yours alone – until you have that ‘You too?’ moment.
We’ve been friends for so long I can’t remember which one of us is the bad influence.’ – Unknown
This one puts a big grin on my face.
It’s cheeky and makes me smile thinking about some of the mischief and fun I’ve gotten up to with my best friends!
I can’t remember who was leading who astray – I think it was more a case of mutual straying!
When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier.” – Diane von Furstenberg
This is the ultimate word on friendship (and of course it doesn’t just apply to women, it’s for the men out there as well).
Life is easier when you are best friends with yourself.
Friendship starts with loving and accepting ourselves. When we love and accept ourselves, it’s much easier to welcome people into our heart, mind and world.
Do you have a favorite friendship quote? Did you have a friend spring to mind when you read a particular quote?
Acknowledge, cherish and celebrate your friends for the precious gifts they are.
If you enjoyed this post, please share the love with your amazing friends!
Looking for more cool quotes?
Check out my other quote related posts on time, change, travel, forgiveness, Gandhi and general favorites.