Color 7: yellow, the color of friendship

A few days ago a friend said to me, "I know you, you love the world and everyone in it." Boy is that the truth. I have this endless supply of love for people. I freely and willingly offer my love to whoever will take it -- with few exceptions. I am not sure why I am this way. I tend to analyze the reason for everything but I have yet to find a specific reason why I am like this. I guess I could attribute it to the hundreds of stories about love I heard while I was growing up, about Jesus and his message of love and sacrifice. Maybe it's the fact that I moved a lot and needed to connect very quickly with people as soon as I met them. No idea and ultimately who cares.

I have a lot of friends. Several care for me the way I care for them, while some may not but that does not affect my feelings all the time. I have friends that listen, I have friends that speak, I have friends that give me things and friends that take. I have friends that love me in ways I don't reciprocate and some I that I love more than they love me. Many of them mistake my feelings and misinterpret my personality. Some get jealous and don't want to share my attention. Others never really understand me and shy away from getting too close, they feel it's fake. I guess it's odd these days to find a person that is willing to open their heart with no restrictions. That's me, that's how I feel. I get hurt, I get betrayed and many times mistreated but I refuse to let that change the way I am. They all come together to create a beautiful collage of personalities that fulfill me.

To the friends that love me, to the ones that don't and to the ones that will, I have a message for you. No matter how you feel about me, no matter how you have treated me in the past, or how many times you will hurt me in the future, just know you are forever in my heart. Once it's open for you I will love you beyond most circumstances. I don't believe in conditional love. I believe that love is a gift we should all share endlessly. I think few people deserve to be pushed away. I think most people hurt you because they are afraid and insecure. Love is the opposite of fear, I think-- a wise passage says so too. So here I am, your friend. You know who you are! Here I am in this public forum letting you know that I love you. I want to thank you for helping me become the person I am today. Some of you are my family by blood and some are family by choice. I need each of you to feel complete. You each play a role in making the jovial girl I am today. I cry at times and get disappointed but I quickly recover when I remember I have you. I've been mocked for the many best friends I have. It may be odd to some that I have more than a few. Each one has played a special role at a specific moment in my life and for that, in that moment, they were the best.

We only have one life, one chance, no time for regrets or fears. I am open and ready to meet all the wonderful people who will now shape my future in another continent or in this one. I am intrigued to look out into this vast garden of yellow roses, each one holding the possibility of a wonderful new friend. Some speak Spanish, most speak English and there's a sprinkling of French, Italian and German natives. I'm excited! With each new person I meet I see God's magnificence materialize before me. As the years pass and I remain connected to the people that shaped my past I see his benevolence and charity envelop me. There's no greater gift than the gift of friendship. Every day, I am immensely grateful for the blessings I have, each with a face, a name and something in common -- my friendship, my heart.