Sat in a masjid discussion circle on the subject of friendship a few weeks ago, the facilitator asked us ‘what positive influences have your friends had on you?’. As we went around we heard from a friend who had shared the practice of sending ‘I’m thinking of you’ texts, another who’d been given courage to up their modesty game, a friend who exemplified treating secrets shared with her as a closely held trust. Whether being influenced by peers doing good or trying to adopt the seven habits of the highly successful, becoming better versions of ourselves is a journey without end. Our storytellers in this episode all beautifully recount their attempts to do, and be better and the profound impacts that this striving has had on their lives.
