Kaspars Breidaks on friendship: when caring for everyone leaves you feeling redundant

Improv theatre actor, teacher and event host Kaspars Breidaks has publicly shared personal reflections on friendship and its role in everyday life.

Breidaks recalls that during his student years he believed friends should look out for one another, since that meant less worry for himself. Back then he tried to maintain a wide circle of friends and stay involved in everyone's lives, effectively building a mutual "network of informants" that gave him a sense of security about everyone's wellbeing even when he wasn't physically present.

A shift over time

Over the years, the situation changed — friends became capable of supporting each other without him, leaving Breidaks feeling redundant, or as he put it, "unemployed," in some relationships. The greater the distance that grew between him and certain friends, the less entitled he felt to take part in their celebrations or to offer comfort during hard times.

These observations prompted him to rethink his approach — no longer trying to stay closely connected to everyone he knew, but instead focusing on a handful of truly important friendships. He says this shift allowed him to build more meaningful relationships.

Breidaks names several friends he considers his "everyday heroes" — Ģirts and Aiga, who keep finding the courage for their daily pursuits; Ralfs, who generously shares memorable adventures; and Aleksis, who entertained three families during Midsummer celebrations with nothing more than a single breakfast package.

In closing, the actor emphasizes that looking after his friends remains an important task in his life, and acknowledges that his understanding of friendship keeps evolving with experience.