Welcome to the Daily Quote – a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for July 30th.
Today is the International Day of Friendship – a holiday that might sound like something Hallmark invented to sell more greeting cards, but it's actually a United Nations observance established in 2011.
The idea was simple but profound: promote friendship between peoples, countries, and cultures as a way to inspire peace and build bridges across our differences.
What I love about this holiday is that it recognizes something we all know but sometimes forget – that friendship isn't just a nice-to-have in life, it's essential. Good friends don't just make the good times better; they make the hard times bearable. They're the people who show up when you need them, who celebrate your wins without jealousy, and who tell you the truth even when it's not what you want to hear.
Speaking of truth-telling friends, today's quote comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who once said:
"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies."
Now, Aristotle wasn't being overly romantic or mystical here – he was being precise. He spent a lot of time thinking about different types of friendship, and what he discovered was that true friendship goes beyond just enjoying someone's company or finding them useful. It's about a genuine connection where two people truly understand each other, support each other's growth, and share something deeper than surface-level interests.
Think about your closest friends for a moment. Aren't they the people who just "get" you? The ones where you can sit in comfortable silence, or finish each other's sentences, or laugh until your sides hurt over something that wouldn't be funny to anyone else? That's what Aristotle was talking about – that rare connection where the boundaries between "you" and "me" become a little blurred because you're so in sync.
But here's the thing about this kind of friendship – it doesn't happen overnight. It's built through shared experiences, honest conversations, showing up consistently, and yes, sometimes working through disagreements. It's choosing to invest in someone else's life and letting them invest in yours.
So today, on International Day of Friendship, maybe reach out to someone who's been that kind of friend to you. Send a text, make a call, or if you're feeling really radical, write an actual letter. Let them know you appreciate them. And if you're looking to build deeper friendships, be the kind of friend you'd want to have – reliable, genuine, and ready to share your soul with another.
That's going to do it for today. I'm Andrew McGivern, signing off for now but I'll be back tomorrow – same pod time, same pod station – with another Daily Quote.