Love, joy and magic: what does friendship mean to you?

True friendship is something of a golden nectar in life – a special garnish that just makes everything lighter, easier and more grounded. In the same breath, friends mean different things to different people. For some, it’s all about being present; at the heart of the party, but also long after it’s done. For others, friendship is a type of colour or healing vitality – a lifeblood, if you will.

As co-founder Lee Thompson takes to the streets of New York City in a unique experiment to make new friends, we ask some of Flash Pack’s top voices of friendship for their own definitions of this must-have force. From speakers to authors and poets, scroll down to read their responses, and prepare to be inspired…

The true currency of life

For me, friendship is the true currency of life. We live in an overwhelming world where so much information is coming at us all the time, every second, every day. I often feel pushed in 500 directions (email, work, social media, to-do lists, to-be lists, et. al). But deep down, I know that the only thing I really need to do is spend more time with my friends. 

 – Motivational speaker Adam Smiley Poswolsky

Adding vital colour 

Friendship is so fascinating because it’s one of the only relationships we have where we are simply choosing to show up without legal obligations or societal pressures. Someone just cares about us… because they do. Therefore, our friendships are vital relationships. They are not only foundational to our overall wellbeing, but they also add colour to our lives. 

– Podcast host Alex Alexander

Sharing the good and the bad

Friendship means sharing the good and the bad with people that I love; it means supporting them when they’re down and celebrating them when they’re happy, and it means having amazing people to go through life with. 

– Author Jacqueline Mroz

Cheering on, lifting up

FRIENDSHIP IS not keeping score.
It’s giving the benefit of the doubt.
It’s showing up for others and not waiting for others to show up first.
It’s giving the forgiveness you hope to get in return.
It’s cheering on and lifting up.
It’s listening and nodding.
Good, secure friendship comes from a place of abundance, not scarcity.
It’s love, joy, and the magic of life. 

– Podcast host Nina Badzin

Creating space for growth 

I deeply believe that friendships and deep connections are one of the most central healing paths of fulfilment. And the older I get, the more I’ve realised that friendship isn’t about who has known me the longest or even who I spend the most time with. It’s about finding and deeply connecting with the people who help make me a better person. The people that create space for my growth and who help me feel supported, safe, free to be fully myself, and expansive. 

– Connection coach Alex Friedman

Well enough and long enough

Friendship can happen with anyone: You’re standing in line at your favourite Mexican spot and you find out the person next to you is ordering the same kind of burrito. Boom. Instant friendship. True friendship, though, is much rarer than my younger self would’ve liked to believe. Some friends show up for the party, others show up when it ends. There are only a handful of people who want to stick around for both – who want to know you well enough and long enough to remind you who you are when the world makes you forget.

– Podcast host Steph Tonneson

Where your real self lies

Support, loyalty, selflessness, fun, respect, kindness, companionship, heartbreak, miscommunication, laughter, loss – our friendships feature most of the same emotions as our romantic relationships. They are, at their core, love stories. That’s why I want us to elevate them to the same status, because actually it’s our friends who can often be the longest-lasting and closest connections of our lives, yet society still under-rates them. To me, friendship is where your truest self lies – these are the people you can be totally yourself with and they, for the most part, love you anyway. Isn’t that more exciting than any fairy tale?

– Journalist and author Claire Cohen

Flash Pack is a group travel company that specialises in small group adventures for solo travellers in their 30s and 40s. Find out more about how we work, and our mission to build a global community of friendships. 

Images: Flash Pack