Friendship & Men

.A story in Salon about the need for men to have friends.

Friendship, along with hospitality and exploration, is an essential practice; we might think of it as a virtue. In Lisa Wade's article, mens' friendships are described as usually more shoulder to shoulder than face to face, more about men sharing activities than sharing themselves. She details a cost in health and happiness. I'm struck by the idea that the key characteristic of deep friendship is self-disclosure, the opening up of ourselves to each other, the necessary vulnerability, the rewards...

But I don't know too much about the rewards, beyond what I've read. Yet I take the stand that friendship is, in a sense, what the whole universe aspires to. 

I've taken some deliberate steps toward cultivating this kind of friendship but I confess I feel out of my depth. This is risking taking that feels really risky, and still I'm probably not risking enough.