Friends LIKE THESE

How can we be more intentional about nurturing the female friendships that ground us?

- BY ROBYN MCLARTY

It's so important to have women in your life that aren't family, women you can grow old with in a way that feels honest, but also hilarious, but also like we don't have to keep up a front... to walk into these next chapters together - it's not as terrifying.” This is a sound bite from Bad Moms actress Kathryn Hahn that has 166K likes and 293K shares on Instagram. The following one, from Jane Fonda, has 111K likes and 143K shares: “Female friendship is lifesaving. Women live longer. And you're getting older, you'll want to have women friends ... men's friendships are side by side looking out; women's friendships are face to face, going deep.”

Women's friendships are having a moment. Awareness is rising that our female friendships are at least as important as our romantic relationships - perhaps even equal to our life partner in terms of providing support, therapeutic processing, deep recognition of our authentic selves, and spiritual nourishment. Not to mention chunking fits of laughter.