From SGI USA, I'm Cassidy Bradford and this is bootability.

The weekly series where I talk with Buddhists from all walks of life about the power we each have to change our lives and the world around us.

If you're one of the lucky ones, you've got a BFF.

They're the SpongeBob to your Patrick, or the Weasley to your potter.

There are countless dynamic duos that show how incredible friendship can be.

And while Valentine's Day is just

around the corner, we decided to take a look at another form of love. Friendship. While romantic

relationships can be a meaningful part of life, research suggests that healthy friendships play

a critical role in our well-being. This means that people

who have close friends feel more fulfilled and have better outcomes for both mental and physical

health. And while friendships enrich our lives, it can sometimes be difficult to make them

and to keep them.

As a kid, it was easy to make a best friend on the playground or maybe in a phase of life where everyone is in the market for friends, like college.

As we grow and life gets more complicated, maintaining those friendships can become a lot of work.

You had a fight with a friend, but you have no idea how to resolve it. You're feeling lonely, but your friend is too preoccupied with their new girlfriend. The good news is that research also shows that friends can be made and maintained at any point in our lives, and even minimal positive social interactions can be powerful for our well-being.

First things first. Time to take stock of your current friendship situation.

Do you have someone you could see a baseball game with?

Or maybe you went on a so-so first date and need someone to help you decide about going on a second?

Or if something more serious happened, do you have someone that would show up for you right then and there?

Now, let's turn the tables. Are you a friend that others can confide in? Are you reliable and trustworthy?

Buddhism teaches the oneness of self and environment. So in this context,

if you want good friends around you, you need to be a good friend yourself. In a conversation

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