Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Friendship

Ancient Greek philosophers truly revered the concept of friendship, and spent much of their time defining, shaping, and discovering the answer to a phenomenal question: What exactly are the components of true friendship? In essence, friendship is based on a companionship involving mutual love, self-love, virtue, and hard work. Nature has no love for solitude, and always leans, as it were, on so support; and the sweetest support is found in the most intimate friendship.
Can you imagine what life would be like without them? Who would you hang out with in the cafeteria during lunch? Who would you tell about the new love in your history class who’s both cute and smart? Who would you have those marathon phone conversations with, you know, the ones that drive your parents crazy? As one grows older, their view on friendship changes and the group of friends they had becomes smaller. Youngsters seek integration in the peer group, they are inclined to distance themselves from social control, parents and other authorities. As a young child, friendship does not really exist, the friends that a child really has is more like an encounter. Playing with another child one day and then going home, that was that until the two kids happen to meet again, which is generally in preschool. When a child is playing with another child it is as if everything revolves around each child’s needs. As the youngster proceeds into the elementary grades they begin to understand that friendship is more than just a playmate. They start to see their friend’s point of view, share secrets, plans and feelings and help seek solutions.
A Definition of a Friendship is not simply a "relationship", knowing someone, conversing with that person, or dealing with that person in business, school, or in casual acquaintance. True friendship is not just a "relationship", but self-sacrificing love. A friend is also one who supports, sympathizes, and is a person in whom you can confide. There are unique qualities that a person must have to be considered a friend. An acquaintance is not automatically considered a friend. Just because you know someone does not mean there is an instant friendship. This does not mean that an acquaintance cannot change into a valued friendship. There are qualities that a friend must have, but time is also a factor. A friendship can develop in as short as a day, or it could take as long as a few years for full development. In the end, if time is taken for full development, then a real friendship will develop. The main way that trust is built up is with time.
People today, in all this new world technology and thinking have lost sight of what a true friendship is. No way do friends have to be exactly the same, they do have their differences. The key to opening up the world of friendship is not just to focus on the similarities but to accept each others faults because true friends do not judge each other. Friends love unconditionally. They do have their little angry moments from time to time but at the end of the day all is forgiven and forgotten. Why let something that happened in the past ruin what great friendship you could have together in the future?
Friendship in itself means sacrifice without the knowledge of the person for whom one sacrifices. Ever since mankind evolved, friendship too came into existence and this relationship will never vanish from the life of mankind.

2 comments:

Rajeev said...

Good One... Nice use of language.. and friendship is such an important thing in life...

Unknown said...

I can not agree more with you...