A friend is someone to dream with while plotting your goals. Real friends make awesome cheerleaders. They believe in you and in your ability to achieve your goals. Everyone else may be politely disinterested in what you're planning to do with your life, but your real friends will be thrilled to hear about what you're doing. They'll help you to brainstorm ideas and will pitch in to help you make your dreams come true whenever possible.

A friend is someone to pray with for support. We've all seen research and studies show that power of prayer is magical no matter who or what it is that you think you're praying to. The studies also show that whenever two or more people get together to pray, that they power becomes increasingly strong. From my own experience I would like to point out that when you have a real friend pray with you instead of a well meaning acquaintance, that increased power is so much greater. Yes stranger helps, but nothing beats power of a friend's prayers.

A friend is someone that you can laugh with until you make that funny snorting sound. Only with my dearest friends have I laughed so hard that tears poured down my face. I have shared funny stories with my friends that I'd never share with coworkers and such. Part of it is because with real friends there is a trust level and you know that you have similar views about what's humor and what's not. So, you can share jokes that otherwise might not be appropriate to tell church ladies after service. Real friends laugh together.

My daughter wanted me to add this last one. A friend is someone to burp and fart with because they don't care if you are a real person. She has determined that reason her best friend has trouble getting along with other girls at school is because her friend doesn't realize that you can't do that sort of thing in front of people that are only polite superficial surface level friends. My daughter says that because they're best friends it's okay if one of them burps or farts in presence of other, but they can't do it in front of anyone else. I suppose she makes a valid point.

I'm not saying you should be a completely trashy mess of bad manners and selfishness around your friends, but at least know that with real friends you can be yourself and they aren't going to turn their back on you. If you have to walk on eggshells, be on your best manners, or monitor your every word and action, then you're probably not with a real friend. A real friend is one of life's greatest blessings, don't forget to give thanks.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge

Reacting to others, living in fear, being angry or self- defeating can send signals of a disorderly notion.

If we are willing to be intimate, friendly, show mutual respect and have a loving rapport with others tells a story about us through signals.

Our tone of voice sends a signal.

The point is, whether we recognize it or not everything we do or in some cases don't do sends a signal to others around us.

That is why I chose "Signals" as my company name because of significance of signals we send others as well as signals we send ourselves. After all, everything we do is filtered through our belief systems.