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Nov. 21, 2004 It came to my attention today, as I spent time with my long time friend for the fragment of a half hour shopping period, how people take friendship for granted. Now this friend of mine is what you would call a true friend. One that doesn't bare a grudge on you when you cancel last minute because of issues occurring in your life; one that don't minds listening to you when you're about to go insane. She accepts me for the person I am, not for the clothes I wear, the funny getstures I do or the quips that I make. I guess that's why she's the only other close friend I have besides my husband. That got me thinking, people seem to use the word "friend" rather loosely these days. I remember a time when there was a distinction between a "friend" and an "acquiantance" and that line was a deep straight line. You could easily distinguish it. Now-a-days I will talk to people and they'll say, "I was out at the bar the other night and I ran into a friend, they had a beer with me and they took off." I would ask them how long had they known this friend, "Oh, I see them at the bar once a month." Would that be classified as a friend? I don't know. To me a friend is someone you keep in contact with and share ideas with, discuss things with...you kind of know each other at the least if nothing else at all. So when people talk to me about having a "friend" I'm always skeptical about whether their relationship would be actually classified as being "friends". Maybe I'm just an old bird, and now I'm starting to think about how things "were" or maybe I'm just thinking they "were" like that and they really were not. Who knows? The end result through these ramblings is that I fight to say, yes, be kind to everyone around you, but don't be so loose with the word "friend". I've seen a lot of these "friends" stomp all over people, get jealous of how well another "friend" is doing and try to ruin their lives to make themselves feel good. If you call people like that "friends", I think you have to define the word "friend". Yes, these things still happen even past the high school stage. It really does amaze me how some people don't really change their thinking pattern from high school. Then again, I've seen some people blossom as individuals after high school, and those people I would be happy to call them an "acquaintance". Remember, they don't fall into my definition of "friend". Looking up the word "friend" in the dictionary.com website, I get the followingdefinition, 1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. 2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance. 3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. 4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement: friends of the clean air movement. 5. Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker. Okay...in this definition, it says that a "friend" is an acquaintance, it also says that a "friend" is a Quaker. Big deal. Looking at these definitions, you can see how people can loose track of what a word means. I hereby state that before you start talking about "friends", you let the other party know what your understanding of the definition is. My definition is #1, but I know a lot of other people who view the definition of "friend" as #2, and think that #1 is your "best" friend. I guess I must be a person that doesn't trust others very much...hmmmmm. If you look up the word "friend" in dictionary.com and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see that the word "friend" comes from the word "lover" in Greek and Latin. So, how do you really define the word "friend"? I will still stick with my own definition, thank you. As I disseminate the meaning of this word further, I come to the conclusion that maybe we should just let sleeping dogs lie, and when a person comes to you and talks about a "friend", just nod, smile and don't get into the politics of it. ------------ About the author: Barbara has been writing short stories for the enjoyment of friends and family for years. In the Collection she has decided to share some of these stories and insights with others. Barbara lives in Calgary, Alberta and enjoys writing, reading and tending to her other field: accounting. Website: http://www.authorsden.com/barbaraannamarjanovic Email: blueswan28@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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