The bonds of friendship, while strong, can be broken by careless action, deeds, words, etc. The truth is, we have probably all, at one time or another, said or done something that lead to the loss of a friend. Hopefully you learned from this and did not lose others to the same mistakes. However, this is not about that, it is about how to repair broken friendship bonds. It is possible to restore a friendship, but just like the restoration of anything worthwhile, it is going to take time, effort, and desire. So, try the following:
Be the first to say sorry, even if you do not think it is your fault, you can be sorry about what the results were. A sincere apology for the disillusionment of friendship is a must when it comes to repairing broken bonds. Usually, even if the bonds break due to time or distance, there is some fault to be had, and a good apology is going to do wonders for getting things back on track. So, take the blame for letting things go bad, or not keeping up the communication, or whatever it is that lead to the problem, or at least apologize for the outcome. Make sure you do this in person. Be sincere. Know what you are apologizing for. An apology is the first step, but the apology does not solve anything without action.
This leads to the next step. So, take action. It is up to you to extend a friendly look, hand, etc. Put yourself out there a little and do something nice. If your friendship bonds were broken simply because of distance and time, then be the first to re-establish communication. Do not expect anything from them. Simply send an email, text them occasionally, and be willing to accept that they may not be interested in repairing the bonds, at least not initially. Many times people will want to see sincere intent and real effort before exerting any of their own. They will want to know that they are not wasting their time, or setting themselves up for failure by being your friend again. So, call them. Do the inviting. Remember their birthday, or significant dates in their life. Do whatever it takes to show them you are sincere about repairing the bonds. This is especially important if you did something to hurt the relationship, such as back stabbed, or stole a boyfriend or girlfriend, etc.
Re-start communication. A huge part of every successful relationship is communication. So, to repair a broken friendship, re-start the communication. Call just to talk. Email well wishes, check in, etc. You have to start talking again for starters, and crank it up from there.
After some time, extend and invite. Occasionally the heart needs time to heal, and so keep in contact with someone, but do not rush things. Let them see your sincerity, and your desire to be friends through consistent communication before you step it up a notch. Once you have shown consistency, start extending invitations. Go out in groups at first to help dispel awkwardness. Then do something casual, eventually you will be able to get back to fun one on one, but it can take some time before you are comfortable doing this.
Continue doing so until it is reciprocated or you are told to quit asking. Things take time to heal. No matter how long it takes for them to accept an invitation, or extend an invite in return does not matter. You have to be the one who is vulnerable, who looks like an idiot if you want to repair a friendship bond. So, keep asking until they say to stop, or, (hopefully) accept.
