There's a biblical quote about "where your treasure lies, there is your heart," and it's true that how we spend our FRNs tells us what we value, often when we're not aware of it. It could be argued our time is our greatest treasure, and what we do with it is also very informative. But the world we live in pushes and pulls at our attention, so it's easy to lose focus, and sometimes our actions become not-related to our best intentions or values. Much worry can be avoided by remembering that we all suffer from the same tendency to lose focus. A quick e-mail along the lines of "We're still OK, I hope" never hurts. Once friendship is established on solid ground, though, it's hard to kill. We might shake it up a little from time to time, but your valuable friends grok you and accept you as you are. That's why they're called friends.
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"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."