Just Because I Like To Serve People Doesn't Mean You Can Treat Me Like Your Servant

Friends...
How do your friends treat you? 
How do you treat your friends?
I don't really know about how other people operate but for me, I like to think that I am conscious of my friendships and treat my friends and in fact most others in my life how I would like to be treated. For me the important parts of friendship are equality - some sort of give and take, it does not need to occur spontaneously, it is unspoken, you just know that somewhere along the line you will do something for a friend and then at another time it will come back to you in kind. Or at least that's how I would like to think it works.....
All my life I have been a 'people pleaser' and I have finally realised that actually I am ok with that! I REALLY like it when other people are pleased by something that I have done for them or said to them. There have been times in my life certainly that this has not been the healthiest pursuit - I remember, in years gone by,  the delightful satisfaction I gained from being 'needed' by others. I also remember how draining that can be as well as the despairing hole that was left inside of me when someone that I had nursed and nurtured found themselves strong and well and confident enough to move on to a place that was no longer so close to me.
Lessons hard learned but never forgotten - all friendships must have a balance.
As always (at least for me) some lessons in life just aren't that obvious!! It began to occur to me, sometime in the last few years, (yep, slow learner sometimes!!) that there were a number of 'unbalanced' friendships in my life. As someone who has always loved working with and generally being surrounded by people I am only to happy to do favours for others, offer my time to them, offer my trade services, anything really that would be helpful, bring joy or at the very least alleviate some suffering if they were going through a hard time. For me all of these acts are just second nature, it is quite simply what you do for your friends. Sadly I have found that this is not the case for all 'friends' and there have been people in my life that have called on the 'friend card' time and again for their own gain and advantage and then, when the day has come that I have been unable to give or assist, they simply disappear, never to be heard from again (or until the next time they need something).
It has been a long, hard and at times heartbreaking road for me to recognise and release those people in my life that for whatever reason, whether conscious or not, that have come to treat me as a servant to their whims and needs rather than sharing in the great joy and gift that true and equal friendship offers.
At the end of the day I do believe that it is all a part of my journey, that I have invited all people into my life for a reason, to teach and to learn. I believe that I am learning all the time, every day, just how much I am worth in this life and all the ways I am showing my worth to the world........