Grateful for Friendship: The Happy Talent of Play on #WomensFriendshipDay

Friends at play!

The Gift of Women’s Friendships

Friendship is one of the deepest blessings we can harvest in life. I am so grateful for women’s friendships which have a way of weaving laughter, support, and joy into even the hardest seasons. They are like threads of gold running through the fabric of our lives, strengthening us, lifting us, and reminding us that we don’t have to walk alone.

On Women’s Friendship Day, I pause with gratitude for the friendships that have carried me, sustained me, and taught me how to play again. Emerson’s words capture it beautifully: “It is a happy talent to know how to play.”

Friendship gives us the freedom to play, to laugh without apology, to sing out loud, to dance with abandon, and to trust that we are safe and loved just as we are.

Planting the Seed: A Women’s Group

Recently, at Unity Palo Alto, I felt inspired to create space for this kind of joy. As a volunteer in the bookstore each Sunday, I noticed the energy bubbling among the women who gathered there, a kind of sparkle, an eagerness to connect. Out of that spark came the idea of a Women’s Group.

When we held our first brainstorming session, the enthusiasm was immediate. Since then, we’ve had gatherings, and they’ve been pure fun:

• A game of “Two Truths and a Lie,” where we laughed until our sides ached.

• A dance party with Dancing Queen,Twist and Shout, and Celebrate!, our very own joyful harvest of movement and music.

• A nature hike, where a smaller group shared stories while walking under open skies.

• A study circle for A Course in Miracles was formed, planting seeds for deep spiritual friendship.

And we’re just getting started. On the horizon are an old-fashioned tea party, a bingo night, a holiday gathering, and even a service project where we can share kindness with our community.

This is women building friendships, weaving connections out of laughter, stories, and shared experiences.

Friendship as Healing

Over the years, I’ve come to see how essential women’s friendships are for healing. A week on a cruise with a girlfriend, I often say, is much cheaper than therapy! Time spent with friends creates space for laughter, honesty, and renewal.

I think of my friend Mary, my sister Suzi, and my Unity friends; each of them has been part of my recovery and thriving. They have helped me navigate challenges, offering love when I needed it most and celebrating milestones with me along the way.

Friendship, at its best, is both refuge and delight. It is serious when it needs to be and playful whenever possible. It reminds us that we don’t have to carry life alone.

Gratitude for Play

Emerson’s quote reminds us that play is not frivolous; it is essential. Play opens our hearts, lifts our spirits, and strengthens our bonds with each other. Women’s friendships often blossom in play: in dancing, in sharing meals, in laughing until tears roll down our cheeks.

These moments of joy are not small things. They are nourishment, just as surely as food or water. They sustain us in hard times and give us memories that sparkle for years to come.

Harvesting the Heart Together

This month’s theme, Harvesting the Heart, is the perfect lens for #WomensFriendshipDay. Each friendship is a kind of harvest, the fruit of time spent together, of showing up, of listening, of laughing. We gather joy from one another, and we give it back in abundance.

Women’s friendships are proof that the heart grows stronger through connection. They are reminders that gratitude is not only something we practice alone but something we share in community. On this Women’s Friendship Day, I am grateful for the happy talent of play and for the women who bring joy, laughter, and love into my life. Friendship is a harvest of the heart, and it grows most abundantly when we nurture it together.