The power of friendship

Build and strengthen friendships across age groups-they provide an anchor, give us perspective and hope

- Sonali Gupta

A 43-year-old client tells me, "I have become friends with a A 26-year-old woman I met at my Pilates class. For the longest time I kept judging her, because she was constantly on the phone. Then some time ago, she asked me if I knew someone who could cook for her as she lives alone and hasn't been able to find a good cook. The more I talked to her, I realised how judgmental I had been about her life assuming she has it easy. Yesterday she was going for a salsa trial class, and invited me to come with her. I felt so touched and realised how being around a person who's young, filled with dreams and ambition is so energising and inspiring. I feel less jaded and bitter. I thought I never could be friends with someone who's not my age and now this friendship is one of the highlights of 2023."

Inter-generational friendships have a beauty of their own. At a time when we are working remotely and in hybrid ways, glued to our phones and devices, struggling with loneliness and finding community, inter-generational friendships feel like a breath of fresh air.