Maintaining friendships

I was listening to Marianne Williamson's radio program yesterday and her topic was friendship. Her guest was Farrah Fawcett's best friend who helped Farrah document her journey through cancer and also wrote a book about it. Something Marianne said struck me. She had received an email from a friend but hadn't responded for a few days...life happens. When she did respond the friend was grateful as she had become worried that something had happened to Marrianne or that perhaps Marianne was angry with her. Now I realize it's typically only women who let their minds go to those thoughts...men typically think nothing of it. Marianne's point was she hadn't been a very good friend by not taking the time to respond to her friend...that we often don't take the time to communicate or spend time with friends because we get caught up in everything else going on in our world. I personally have found it hard to keep connected to friends either because my life is busy, their life is busy, or both. I don't foresee a lot of people's lives slowing down any time soon. We live in a society that says you're not living a productive life if you aren't always on the go, doing something, accomplishing this goal, finishing up that project. So perhaps the best way to stay connected is through simple email communication saying "hey, I was thinking about you." Facebook has helped people reconnect and stay connected...is this enough to sustain friendships? To a degree yes...but I still think it's wonderful when friends make the time to spend time in each other's presence.