Several male acquaintances who had never admitted to watching the show mentioned they planned to "check it out." Women friends were more open - "Yep, don't bother calling me." Even people who don't normally watch a whole lot of TV (me included) actually found a way to tune in.

Of course I was just doing "research." I gathered with a few friends to check out this phenomenon. Was the last show of "Friends" really all that great? Not all by itself. Neither are some of your gatherings with old friends that you take for granted.

So, what is it? Is it that we really are more interested in our connections with people than with the rest of our lives? Our day-to-day lives are comprised of earning money, paying bills, making business connections, taking care of mundane things -- meeting the plumber at the house, getting the sprinkler system fixed or an estimate to repair the roof.

What really matters; what really takes us into our place of comfort and happiness, is our friendships.

That was the hardest thing for me when I moved from Hawaii to Phoenix. I moved away from a quarter of a century worth of friends to knowing only a handful of acquaintances through a national women's group. This group of ladies in Phoenix were wonderful - but, they knew me only as that woman on stage who had done keynote speeches for them. They knew me from my books and my stories.

The friends I left behind in Hawaii WERE the stories. These are the friends who still are there. Who I don't need to see all that often for them to start up the conversation right where we left it off months or years ago. They knew me - warts and all, and they still loved me and believed in me.

I have traveled so much in my life - I have lived in over 36 houses since my birth. And I have friends in 7 states. These are women I know I can call at two AM and they would be there for me in a heartbeat. And the feeling is mutual.

That is why we watched "Friends." It is a reminder of what many of us found in high school and college. It is a reminder that we still have that with a small handful of friends who have some how stuck it out with us over the years through all our growing pains, our stupid mistakes, our lost loves and our self-discovery.

… and it is what we crave. It doesn't matter if you are the most extraverted person or the shyest. We all need to have someone who knows us and accepts us for who we are, where we are, what we are going through, right here and right now. The beauty of a nonsense show that didn't really have much of a plot, wasn't deeply philosophical, didn't really answer the world's deepest questions? The beauty was that we all recognized what we either have in our lives or what we want.

Yes, all the money shows, all the greed shows and the reality shows are interesting. But in our heart of hearts… we all just need a friend. If you look at the most popular shows that have hit the airwaves in the past 5 decades - from the sappy to the sublime - the shows that endure are shows about human connections.

Take a few minutes and count your blessings - think about those people who have been your friends throughout your life. The work friends who go away when the job is over. The high school friends who move on with their lives. Some of those boyfriends or girlfriends that seemed so important at the time when your heart pounded at the sound of their name… And those friends who have just stuck it out with you for years. Think about them and say a quiet "thank you" to them for being there when you needed them.

Connectivity. It is what saves us from ourselves. It is what matters most when all the rest of life seems to be falling apart. It is really, after all, what life is all about.

Now, send this on to someone you love and tell them thank you for being in your life. Appreciation doesn't cost much… unless it is said too late. Take care of yourselves, and take care of your friends. They are your greatest wealth.

Aloha me pumehana,
Beth