My wise friend Jordan and my single-service friends

Jordan is a very wise man, in fact, he is one of my wise friends. Someone who just says things that resonate with me, and perhaps (as some have joked) my soulmate from another life. This summer, Jordan went on a grand adventure (as he is wont to do) and one of our many epic post-adventure conversations rounded onto the topic of single-service, or temporary-service, friends (those of you unfamiliar with the Fight Club reference, bail out now). Being wise, he commented that while his young companion seemed intent on holding on to everything and everyone, Jordan had realized that sometimes you don't want to hold these people. Sometimes people are only meant to be in your life for a short time, and sometimes letting them leave without trying to hold them in place is the best thing to do. We cannot, after all, have our proverbial friend-cake and eat it too.

And so here in Oxford I have been making all kinds of friends, from those I hope to keep forever, as I will Jordan, and those I know were only meant to walk me to my street and shake my hand. Let me explain. Last night, for the third time in my short time here, I walked out of a single-service situation and felt that I had found the good in people, but knowing that it could only go downhill, and futile as it would be to hang on to the sentiment, let it go. Strange, but that is the most uplifting part. That moment when you say goodbye and turn around, no names, no numbers, just a smile and a thank you. That is the real joy. And this morning at seven thirty I was rudely awoken by a single-service situation that won't leave me be, and all I think is that maybe, just maybe, some wisdom should come his way, and we could let it go, and just enjoy the knowledge that there is one more great person in the world that is in no way attached to ourselves, but floating through the days with a smile somewhere in their memories from fifteen minutes walking with a new friend that they willingly let go.