The Blossom vanishes of itself
As the fruit grows.
So will your lower self vanish
As the Divine grows within you.
~ Vivekananda
Ideally, friendships lead us into deeper communion with each other; those we love mirror the divine reality and so draw us closer to the One they reflect. In our humanness, however, we can forget that the friend is only a reflection of God and instead invest ultimate meaning in the relationship.