Precisely because they are so stable and enduring, platonic relationships are always the first to get taken for granted.
Did you neglect a friend when you got into a relationship, and then go to them for support when your relationship crumbled? What about that quiet relative who never demanded your attention, but gets ignored because they aren’t party to the drama of those who insist on being the main character in your life? Or the neighbor who is always under his jeep waving hello?
Invite them to coffee, lunch, or a barbecue. Let their voices fill your head. Look them in the eye when they talk and be grateful they are there. Fill your kaleidoscope with every variety of healthy, platonic color you can find.
It may feel a little strange to put energy into relationships that elicit no passion. But platonic friendships, those with low emotional stakes, are the most likely to last. Lasting, consistent actors in your social life are the pillars to which you moor yourself. And they are moored to you. Romance, however, is a volatile flame that reduces friendships to rubble.
Having stable friendships will make you more keenly aware of the energy that emanates from a healthy, balanced relationship. They have no reason to use the takeover toolbox on you because the stakes are never that high. They also don’t want anything from you. Platonic relationships have no stakes or transactions, and that is why they endure.