" A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success."


                                                                                                - Unknown

    I walk away from this with a new perspective on friendship. Specifically starting new friendships. The initial thought before the action of pursuing a new relationship. I've recently realized that I feel a sense of self importance when making someone else feel important.
  When you see someone thats discouraged or disheartened, go encourage them. When you someone that is alienated, pull them in. If you notice that the person at school or work is just not talkative, go talk to them. I used to be that quiet person that only spoke when spoken to. When someone finally brought me in; talked to me, listened to me, encouraged me, I felt so important. Even if it was just for a quick moment, every word exchanged meant the world.
   When you praise a victors success you are only feeding an ego fire. I'm not saying don't congratulate them on their success. I'm saying don't dwell on it. Going back to the perspective of pursuing new friendships. Don't spend more time in conversation with the successful person just because they are in fact successful.
  Try this. Try remembering a time when you were not at your peak. A time when you would give anything for a compliment, a hug, a smile, any kind of encouragement. Now think about what a difference it would have made to you. Now imagine the difference you can make in another person life that is in a similar position. A single word of encourage can change a person's life.
   When I was younger I had a camp counselor that told us this personal story:

   She was in middle school. She had a horribly terrible home life. Her best friends had just dumped her and left her for not. She walked home everyday because no one could pick her up. She had decided. After the bell had rang for school to end, she went to her locker like she did every day. She put as much as she could in her back pack and proceded to taking the rest of her stuff to carry in her arms. She then started her trip home. The weight of all the school supplies was hard to control in her small arms. Then out of the trees she heard a voice. "Do you need some help with that? Where are you headed?"
    She didn't reply. The stranger walked up to her and grabbed a hold of a sizable amount of the pile. They then walked with her all the way to her house. They talked and laughed. When they finally arrived the stranger, who was a little less strange, stayed and they continued to talk and laugh. It turned out that they went to school together. When the time came, the stranger went home. The two of them became very close friends. She told us that they were still friends at the time she was my counselor. She ended the story with a dialoge between them. Years after that walk home she confessed to them that they had saved her life. She went on to explain that she had cleaned out her locker because she had planned to commit suicide that night. She thanked them. They both shed many tears. Tears of happiness mostly.

A word of encouragement can change someone's life. It maybe even save it.