God Only Knows What I'd Be Without You

Yes, this is super blogging night.

We often group the people with whom we have a loose association and the people with whom we are endeared together as friends. But, Greek texts and some literal English translations of the Bible differentiate between the two: philo (friend); hetairos (comrade, associate, companion, partner).

Philos (which is translated friend) was originally an adjective denoting loved, dear, or friendly and later became used as a noun (Vines). A friend is one for whom we have affection (phile). We often express this type of friendly affection as "feeling" or "sentiment" - e.g., those for whom we have feelings. Therefore a friend (philos) is one whom we love (phile); hence, a friend is one whom we do good toward from an affectionate conviction.

In the third Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants novel, Bridget sits down and figures out to whom she belongs. In her case, it isn't her unconventional family, but, rather, is her three best friends.

When I read this, I started to sort out exactly who I belong to. I have a huge family, and, I suppose, I have a lot of people whom I would call friend. But to say you belong to someone is a pretty strong declaration. It's a deeper love. It's attachment. It's a constant concern. It's knowing all you can know. It's conversation when there is none. It's devotion when there is absolutely nothing to be gained.

I think I've decided that there are five people to whom I belong.

It is truly something to think about.