My late father was a diamond geezer, he was even shiny to look at:- a huge gold earring, matching teeth, and an awesome sense of humour!

In spite of his tough start in life, with no traditional family, he collected diamonds; he found and loved many a gem in some of the people he met, and those closest to him became the family he made for himself…

Many of us come from fractured homes, and not all of us have the chocolate box family that we often see depicted on the television.

But, we all have the capacity, and need for love: we yearn to have a family.

We must collect diamonds of our own:  good genuine people are more valuable than anything else. They are our very own real diamonds.

I’m not going to patronize you by telling you how to make friends, though it’s helpful to remember that as fragile souls, we can often have distorted emotions and perspectives. Perhaps we have been too much of a “people pleaser” in the past, and suffered exploits, purely because we wish to be liked. Or indeed want to “fit in” but we feel hindered by our delicate mental health.

True friends, and the real diamonds, whether they be of many years standing, or new, will all have several glorious attributes in common: they never judge / they never scold, or bad mouth you/ they won’t make you feel bad for not being in touch. They simply want the best for you, – as though you were actually an extension of themselves! You can get in touch, pretty much anytime.

Or, in short, they are the people with whom you never feel as though you have to put on an act; they love you for all that you are, warts and all!

So, look out for these qualities in people and treasure them dearly, for they are far more valuable than any shiny stones!