It's grown into a personal relationship, yeah. I'm crazy about

The words of Jon Voight—“It’s grown into a personal relationship, yeah. I’m crazy about Jerry. I think he’s a unique character.”—speak of a truth that has echoed through the ages: that bonds between souls are not forged in haste, but grow like roots beneath the earth, deepening with time until they hold fast. In these words, we hear both admiration and affection. Voight does not describe a passing acquaintance, but a personal relationship, born of shared moments, laughter, and trust. Such bonds, once formed, are treasures more enduring than fame, fortune, or power.

The ancients taught that every man’s greatness is amplified by the company he keeps. To call another a “unique character” is to acknowledge the singular flame that dwells within him, a light unlike any other in the world. Just as no two stars in the heavens burn with the same brightness, so no two souls carry the same essence. Voight’s words are an anthem to friendship, for he recognizes in Jerry something rare, something worth cherishing, something that cannot be replaced.

History offers us luminous examples of such bonds. Think of Achilles and Patroclus, whose friendship was so profound that it spurred Achilles to return to battle and face his fate. Think of Cicero and Atticus, whose correspondence over decades revealed a bond unbroken by distance or politics. Their relationships were not merely social ties, but anchors of strength and mirrors of the self. Voight’s declaration is cut from this same cloth: that to be “crazy about” another is not weakness but testament to the soul’s capacity for loyalty and love.

Such relationships grow not in moments of ease alone, but in trials, in the quiet endurance of companionship through the seasons of life. To find joy in another’s uniqueness is to be freed from the prison of the self, to open one’s heart to difference and delight in it. The ancients believed that true wisdom comes not from isolation but from dialogue, from recognizing in another person qualities that expand our own understanding. By cherishing Jerry as a “unique character,” Voight affirms that the gift of friendship is not to make another like us, but to celebrate them as they are.

The meaning of this quote reaches beyond Voight’s personal life. It calls us to examine our own relationships. Do we merely know others on the surface, or do we allow time and openness to grow our bonds into something deeper? Do we dismiss people for their strangeness, or do we learn to see their uniqueness as gift, as light, as color in the great tapestry of human life? The soul that learns to love another’s difference has already taken a great step toward wisdom.

For us, the lesson is clear: invest in personal relationships that matter. Do not let busyness or pride rob you of the joy of companionship. Speak words of admiration when admiration fills your heart; tell those you love that they are unique, for such affirmations bind hearts together. Seek out the extraordinary in ordinary people, and you will find that your life is immeasurably enriched.

The practical action is this: nurture the bonds you already have, and be courageous enough to form new ones. Share time, share words, share silence even, for these are the building blocks of relationships. When you see uniqueness in another, do not hide your appreciation. Celebrate it, as Voight did, and in doing so, you breathe life into the relationship, strengthening it against the storms of time.

Thus, let us pass down this teaching: that friendships, like trees, grow stronger the longer they are tended, and that to love another’s uniqueness is to honor the divine variety of creation itself. As Jon Voight declared, to be “crazy about” a friend is no folly—it is wisdom, the kind of wisdom that sustains us when all else fades. For in the end, it is our relationships, not our achievements, that form the true measure of a life well lived.