A continuation on the living essence of friendship, how absence, silence, and gratitude deepen our shared humanity
by Roshan Jayasinghe
Editor’s Note
In his earlier reflection “The Wheel and the Tree of Friendship,” published in The Morning Telegraph on September 18, 2025, Roshan Jayasinghe explored friendship as the quiet architecture of life, the wheel that carries us and the tree that roots us.
This continuation moves inward. Here he writes not only of connection but also of silence, of drifting and returning, and of gratitude for the enduring thread that binds us all. Together, the two essays form a complete meditation on the rhythm of friendship, movement and rest, separation and reunion, depth and light.
Friendship is not an ornament in life, it is its foundation. It is the fabric that holds us, the pulse that steadies us, the circle that keeps turning even when we forget it is there.
Friendship is the wheel that moves us forward, and it is also the tree that roots and reaches. In its embrace we are carried, nourished, challenged, and seen. Without friendship, our path narrows and hardens, with it, life becomes a journey shared, softened, and made whole.
This reflection is not a set of rules. It is an observation of life as it is, and as it could be, when friendship is honored, nurtured, and held as the quiet wealth it truly is.
“A circle turns, a seed takes root,
life is carried by love made visible.”
The Wheel of Friendship
The wheel begins at the hub, that still, luminous center where recognition occurs. It is the simple moment of seeing another and knowing: you belong in my journey.
From that hub, the spokes radiate. Each one carries weight, balancing the wheel:
Trust, the quiet knowing another will not abandon us in storms.
Honesty, the courage to speak truth even when it unsettles.
Compassion, the impulse to ease each other’s burdens.
Forgiveness, the willingness to release hurts so the bond may live.
Vulnerability, the gift of being seen without disguise.
Patience, allowing distance or silence without breaking connection.
Encouragement, lifting one another toward clarity and growth.
Joy, celebrating the simple delight of being together.
The rim binds these qualities in unity: the messages, smiles, check-ins, and remembrances that keep the bond alive. The tire touches the ground: the laughter shared, the silence held, the presence felt. A strong tire cushions the bumps, grips the uncertain road, and keeps the wheel turning.
Friendship, like a wheel, is never still. It moves with us. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes resting. Yet if the hub is sound and the spokes intact, it always turns again.
“A wheel turns steady,
the hub holds all things together.”
The Tree of Friendship
If the wheel shows us motion, the tree reveals depth.
The roots reach into the soil of shared humanity, our longing to belong, to love, to be seen. The trunk is strength, the commitment to remain through storms. The branches extend outward, forming networks of family, companions, and strangers who may yet become friends. The leaves are the daily gestures, kind words, laughter, touches of care, that catch the light of life.
Seasons pass. Leaves fall, branches break, storms strip the tree bare. Yet as long as the roots remain, the tree endures. Friendship is like this, its essence alive, waiting to bloom again when warmth returns.
“Roots unseen, branches reaching,
friendship shelters the soul.”
Seasons, Silence and Return
Friendship follows the seasons.
Spring brings new beginnings.
Summer glows with joy and closeness.
Autumn signals change and distance.
Winter rests in silence and absence.
Each season has its place. Winter is not the end, it is rest. Spring will come again.
There are times in life when we drift apart from friends, not from the absence of love but from the weight of our own becoming. I too have been absent, through moments of trouble, of shame, or of inward searching that made it hard to reach out or be seen. These pauses are part of the human condition, not the end of connection.
True friendship understands these silences. It holds space without judgment, knowing that absence does not always mean loss. Life evolves, and so do we. Sometimes friendship rests in quiet understanding, like a river beneath the frozen surface, still flowing, still alive.
To know this is to remember that friendship is not only about being together, but about remaining connected in unseen ways, myself toward my friends, and my friends toward me. The thread remains, even through the distance.
“A broken wheel still rolls,
a bare tree still dreams of green.”
Friendship Beyond People
Friendship is not limited to human bonds. The gaze of a loyal dog, the companionship of a horse, the song of a bird, all are threads in the wider circle of friendship. They remind us of simplicity, to care and be cared for without demand.
Even the earth itself is our friend. The tree offers shade, the river offers water, the wind cools the skin. To live with awareness is to see friendship everywhere, in every being, in every breath.
“The earth befriends us quietly,
with shade, with song, with water freely given.”
Pause here.
Think of a friend whose presence steadied you. Perhaps their words, perhaps their silence. See them as a spoke in your wheel, or a branch in your tree.
Ask yourself: How can I water this branch? How can I tighten this spoke?
It may not take much, a call, a word, a smile. Sometimes the smallest gestures return life to the whole.
The Intertwined Soul
At its deepest level, friendship is not about frequency of contact or perfection of agreement. It is about the intertwining of souls. A true friend sees us not only for who we are, but for who we are becoming. They remind us of our wholeness when we forget it, and they return us to the road when we lose our way.
Friendship is a form of wealth that does not diminish. It clarifies the mind, lightens the heart, steadies the body, and enriches the journey. To cultivate it is to live in harmony with the way of nature, cycles, seasons, interdependence, resilience, and renewal.
“Souls weave together unseen,
friendship endures beyond time.”
This reflection is written not to instruct, but to mirror what friendship already is: life’s most natural expression of love. In a world that prizes achievement, speed, and possession, friendship stands as a quiet resistance. It asks nothing but sincerity, and in return, it offers everything: presence, belonging, joy, and the strength to carry on.
Friendship is both fragile and enduring.
It is both ordinary and sacred.
It breaks, it bends, it falls silent, yet it returns.
It is the invisible thread that binds the human family, the bond between species, the pulse of life itself. To nurture friendship is to nurture life. To honor friendship is to honor the soul. And to live in friendship, with ourselves, with others, with the earth, is to taste the fullness of joy that is already here, waiting to be seen and shared.
Today, reach out to one friend.Water one branch.
Tighten one spoke.
In small gestures, the great wheel turns, and the tree of friendship grows strong again.
The imagery of the wheel and the tree is not meant to be analyzed but lived. The wheel teaches motion and balance, the tree teaches depth and rootedness. Together, they remind us that friendship is both movement and stillness, resilience and tenderness.
Carry this not only in thought, but in practice. Water the roots. Tend the spokes. Keep the wheel rolling. In doing so, you keep alive the universal joy of friendship, for yourself, for others, and for the world.
With my deepest gratitude for my friends, and the friends of my friends, for my family and my children who are also my friends, and for all those I have loved and shared companionship with along this journey, past and present, we are bound by one natural human truth: the gift of being connected.
Author’s Note
This second reflection was born not from thought, but from the quiet spaces between friendships, the pauses, the missed calls, the unspoken apologies, and the gratitude that comes when hearts remember one another again.
If Part I was written from the eyes of an observer, Part II was written from the heart of participation. It arose through moments of distance, self-awareness, and return, through realizing that even silence carries connection.
To every friend, near or far, who has walked beside me in this journey of becoming, know that even in absence, our connection has never been lost. To be human is to circle back to love, again and again.
Final Editorial Reflection
The Wheel and the Tree of Friendship series invites readers to slow down and recognize friendship as one of nature’s quiet laws: what is tended flourishes, what is forgotten waits patiently to return.
May these words remind us that the greatest wealth we hold is not in possession or progress, but in the unseen threads that connect one soul to another.
About the Author
Roshan Jayasinghe writes about consciousness, friendship, and the natural architecture of human connection. His reflections explore the meeting point between stillness and motion, self and other, thought and awareness.
Read Part I: The Wheel and the Tree of Friendship (September 2025)
