Good Friends care for each other, Close Friends understand each other, but True Friends stay forever, beyond words, beyond distance and beyond time.
Friendship is valuable, but how many of us truly value it? Almost all of us have friends, some who we made in our childhood, to some who we make today. True friends always help each other grow and change for the better. They support you in good times and bad, and know about you more than anyone else. True friends always have each other’s back, and never blame each other.
But, is it always like this?
It’s heartbreaking to see how those who were once best friends, are almost like strangers now. It’s even more heartbreaking to see how little it takes for a friend to drift away. I personally loath those kind of friendships. When we become friends, I expect that bond to remain forever. I hate to see how ‘best friends’ move away from us after some time, and even become someone else’s ‘best friend’ so easily. In my opinion, those aren’t true friends. I believe that true friends are people who care for each other, understand each other, and remain the same despite the span of distance, or lack of time and words.
I value long-term friendships. I personally don’t fancy the short term ones which are only formed for a specific purpose, as an ad-hoc committee. I expect my friends to always be in touch with me, and not turn into the category of a ‘hi-bye friend’ after a few months. I believe that true friends must always be in touch.
I have met some friends who say they are busy all the time, even to have a chat over a call. Sometimes they don’t seem to even have the time to reply to a text message, but seem to have the time for others. All I can say about such friends is that they aren’t true friends! In my perspective, it’s all about people’s priorities. So, if you don’t even count on their priority list, how can you consider them your true friend? If you too have been in a situation like this, my advice is, Don’t waste your time finding stones when there are diamonds.
The most important qualities of a true friend include honesty, respect and trustworthiness.
A true friend must be honest. We meet many people in our lives, among whom some become our friends, few remain to be long lasting, and the very few who gems who turn out to be honest and loyal for a lifetime. I believe that the main ingredient of true friendship is honesty, and that it also turns out to be the secret of a successful friendship. Being honest includes both appreciating the good things about them, like complementing the way they dress, encouraging their achievements, and taking part of their joyfulness, as well as advising them before they make a wrong choice, or tackling their problems with them.
We must value respect in a friend. A true friend is someone who accepts you for who you are. True friends don’t start a fight just because they disagree with you, don’t backbite you, and don’t make up rumors about you.
Trustworthiness is important in any relationship. True friends are known to be those secret keepers. True friends will hold each other’s embarrassing moments and funny stories, and protect you against offense. A true friend will stand with you and support you at every stage of life, and I believe this acts as a liberating element in true friendship.
Try to get back in touch with an old friend…
A Cheering moment of a friendship story is getting back together with a childhood friend who you weren’t in touch with for a long time. Even after years, if you can get in touch with each other, restart your friendship from where you left it, and be the same old close friends you were, I recognize that as a TRUE FRIENDSHIP!
It is very important to have a true friend who is always there for you. Everyone should know how to choose a true friend and how to honor friendship. If we wish that our friends should be true to us, then we must be true to them. True friendship is not only doing crazy things and having fun together, it’s also sticking together and having an inseparable bond.
Rtr. Sashmittha Manickam Kumar
Editor