Friendship. It is funny to me, because friendship has the same suffix as partnership, hardship, and a lot of other "ship" words. The suffix -ship is the quality, condition, or state of being of something. So the word friendship doesn't refer to any specific interaction or feeling between two people, it refers to a "state of being a friend." It implies that friendship is something we become, not something we do or have.
For isn't being a friend the way to get a friend? That's one of the reasons why some people are silent, or included. They don't try and participate. A true friendship is something that we work to become, and just doesn't fall into our laps overnight. Friendship requires commitment, trust, and selflessness. Often greedy and self-righteous people don't have friends, because they don't realize that Greed and friendship are opposites of each other. Although friendship takes effort, it is worth it.
A happy man is never a lonely man. A lonely man is never a happy man. In almost every story of heroism in the world today, the hero or heroin has a companion, whether it be another person, or an animal, or an object. A thing they can talk to. Something they can interact with. We can draw strength from friends. Friends are always kind. Friends are the people you go to on a down day and say "I really need help." You can always count on friends. There is no coincidence in the statement: "The #1 way that people avoid suicide is through a good friend."
I have felt the good influence of good friends in my life. Each friend I have had has become part of myself, and has affected me. Friendship is a noble aspiration, an endeavor with more worth than grades and other distractions in life. Not that there can't be bad friends. Friends that have low standards, or who are interesting in immoral and bad things will only leave bad parts of themselves behind. We need to make sure we surround ourselves with friends who build us up, not friends that tear us down.
Everybody can be a friend to someone else. Someone in need, someone who doesn't have anyone to turn to. Being a friend can lead to greater things, like conversion to church, business partners, and even marriage. Almost everyone who becomes spouses with each other befriends their partner before they are married. Friendship creates bonds and seals that are unbreakable. It creates a people who are indivisible. It gives spirit to the fire of humanity, and moves us forward. Nothing would ever get done without humans who are willing to stand together for all time.
I would encourage all of you to find friends. It will bless you, no matter how many you have. You don't have to be popular, or have the newest cell phone, or wear the best clothes. All it takes is a little reaching and a little trying. And just remember, to get a friend, you have to be a friend.
This is a really good post. There's only one thing I disagree with a little. When you were talking about stories and heroes, I don't think and object counts as a true friend. People who use fake substitutes are either stranded on an island or have been so lonely for so long, they finally snapped into insanity.
ReplyDeleteJust as a side note, have you ever seen the show "My Strange Addiction?" There was on episode which profiled a guy in love with a life-like doll. He treated it like his wife even. And as if that weren't crazy enough, he said something along the lines of this-
"I believe more people will turn to the synthetic relationship in the near future."
Ya right. Face reality man.
Soooo... sorry if that was off topic, but I just had to say that.
That's a topic I keep thinking about, My dad and mom still have a friend from High School. It's been more than 15 years, but it just goes to show all the work they put into that friendship lasted. To this day they are still wonderful friends. Over Winter Break we even went and stayed in his home with his family. For me, I hope to be even half as successful as them in keeping my true friends.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I really enjoyed about this post was the imprints of the friends on your life. I think that's so true, you are left with a part of them when they move on. I love this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart"
It captures the essence of what I want from my friends. but you're right there are the friends that leave a bad "footprint" that aren't worth keeping.