Thursday, January 21, 2010

Friendship


“Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more people. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism. Their tastes will usually be similar and may converge, and they will share enjoyable activities. They will also engage in mutually helping behavior, such as exchange of advice and the sharing of hardship.” -Expedia

I am a loner. My experiences in life taught me to be so. In my “forming years” (from age 5 to age 17), I went to a lot of schools (8 schools in total), which made it quite difficult for me to develop deep rooted, stable friendships. It also didn’t help that I didn’t live in a “neighborhood” so there were no kids around when I was at home. All in all, I was left with me, myself and I to entertain myself. I even remember talking to imaginary friends when I was little. You work with what you have… right? But even though I am a loner (and perfectly comfortable being one), I am a human being, and I sometimes do need support. I take friendship VERY seriously and the feelings and actions that this simple word implies are sacred to me.

Throughout the years I’ve heard the word “friend” being tossed around loosely. We live in such a selfish, superficial and materialistic world that it seems like the definition of “friendship” has lost its real meaning. It is real odd to me to see people say “my friend bob…” or “I’m going to this bar with a couple friends”, yet they don’t really know each other, and probably will flee the scene in a moment of need. Same pushes me to believe that just because you know 20 people you can hang out and socialize with, doesn’t make them your “friends”. They are hang out buds, or acquaintances. It makes me laugh how some people love to think they have tons of friends, when the reality of it all is that… well… they probably don’t.

I have come to realize there is only one way to find out if those you call your “friends” are the type of friends who are worthy of that “label”. A tough situation in life is pretty much all you need to see and know who your real friends are. That one moment when you really need a hand. A shoulder to cry on. An ear to listen. An extra pair of hands to lift. It is then when most disappear and there are only a couple standing. It’s sad, but it is the reality of it.

The following are two proverbs that seem to carry a lot of truth (to me at least) regarding friendship: (1) “Friends should be few but good,” Greek proverb; and (2) "The good fellow to everyone is a good friend to no one." Jewish proverb.

I would like to end this entry with a simple message…

Quality and not quantity what really matters when it comes to “friendship”.

PS: I would like to give special thanks to those that have been there for me in REAL times of need: Nedra, Anthony, Christine, Charley, I will NEVER forget what each of you have done for me. I will forever be grateful and pray that one day, I’ll be able to be there for you when you need me.

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