Friendship requires leisure. This fine cultural form cannot survive without the time and leisure that are its lifeblood. I love the East Indian custom of standing next to someone in silence, probably just a step in back of him or her, if you wish to make friends. Silence, waiting, time, respect for another's space–these are the elements of friendship.
My friends have made the story of my life.
In a thousand ways they have turned all my
limitations into beautiful privileges and enabled
me to walk serene and happy in the shadow
cast by my deprivation.