Disagreeing Without Fighting

Manda is a writer and speaker, and straight up Truth-teller. She believes that “there isn’t a single person you would not love if you knew their story.” For this series, a lot of women have shared about the power of vulnerability in authentic friendship, and Manda lives, breathes, and writes from a place of sincerity and vulnerability. What does authentic friendship mean to her?

It’s disagreeing without fighting. It’s awkward silences minus awkward. And at a basic level, it’s common interests.

I love her take on disagreeing without fighting. I don’t know about you, but confrontation is not my strong suit, so I am typically the friend who agrees with everyone so that they will like me. I am learning to appreciate the beauty of silence, and some of my friends have taught me the value in sitting together, not saying anything, and just being present–together.

A few months ago, Manda wrote about her struggle with friendships:

I don’t want to be a friend to a multitude of people. I long to be the kind of friend I like to have. I want to be a friend who knows what’s going on in your life. I want to be a friend who pops by randomly and welcomes you in when you drop by unexpectedly. I want to be a friend who you can share your most intimate struggles and secrets with. I want to be a friend who you can watch reality TV shows and binge eat Ben & Jerry’s with. I want to be a friend who, no matter how far apart we live, you call up when you’re bored, or excited about something, or for no reason at all. I want to be more like Jesus; but Jesus had only 12 close friends, not thousands.

Let’s be the kind of friend we want to have!

This is part of a series called 31 Days of Authentic Friendship. Click here to see all posts.