Circle of Friends

I’ve been thinking a lot about circles lately.

Not the loud kind. Not the crowded kind.

The small, intentional ones.

The kind you build slowly, often without realizing it..until one day you look around and understand that the people beside you are the reason you made it through.

Long before circle of friends became a phrase, the circle itself meant safety. In ancient communities, people gathered this way to share meals, warmth, stories, and grief. There was no head of the table. No hierarchy. Everyone faced inward. Everyone belonged.

In Mesoamerican cultures, including the Maya, the circle carried deep meaning. It symbolized wholeness, balance, and the cyclical nature of life. Ceremonies were often held in circular formations, with fire or offerings placed at the center. The flame represented shared life force.. something protected and sustained by the community together.

Across cultures, from Indigenous North American councils, to African village gatherings, to Celtic and early European traditions, humans have always gathered in circles. Not for ceremony alone, but for survival. The shape removed hierarchy, invited listening, and centered what mattered most: shared life, shared responsibility, shared light.

While the Circle of Friends sculpture itself is a more modern form, the symbolism it carries is ancient. The image of people standing shoulder to shoulder around a central light echoes traditions that understood something we sometimes forget: community was never optional.

What I love most about the circle is that it has no beginning and no end. No one stands above another. Everyone matters equally. Strength isn’t loud here..it’s shared.

When there’s a candle at the center .. a small flame, steady and warm? the meaning deepens. Light feels different when it’s held together. It reminds us that even in stillness, we are not alone.

At Home by Pari, I’m drawn to pieces that quietly carry meaning. Objects that feel human. Textured. A little imperfect. Things that remind us that homes aren’t built on perfection, they’re built on connection.

A circle of friends doesn’t have to be big.

It just has to be real.

And sometimes, all it takes is a single flame in the middle of a room to remember that none of us were meant to do this alone.