Friendship

We all need friends throughout our life, without friends life would be very lonely. Oftentimes we have problems with our friends. Nowadays the most common problem is the lack of interaction due to our busy lives. I wonder whether that is actually a valid reason for not being in touch with friends. Some people are busy with work, some are busy with studies. I don't think anyone is that busy that they can't make time for friends. A few friends have given me the excuse of being busy. It is more like they want to say that I'm not worth their time. I’m sure that besides work or studies, they do take out time for online social networking. If they can do that, they can definitely take out time to WhatsApp a friend. I have learnt that the best way to deal with such friends is to ignore them. After all, why would one want to continue being friends with somebody, who apparently has no time to be in touch?

I think that online social networking has contributed to unhealthy relationships. The amount of time that is spent on these websites could actually be spent with friends. Friendships have become so superficial, to the point that some friends only think of you when they need your help. I have become bored with online social networking. I’d rather go out than engage in communication that feels so impersonal. If somebody on Facebook likes my post, that doesn't mean that I'm really friends with them. I prefer to spend very less time online than to go through my endless news feed. Friendships die because of waiting for the other to initiate communication. I know how it feels when a friend only bothers to talk to me if I initiate contact. It’s best to just not allow this type of one-sided friendship to go any further. It’s only going to lead to hurt and misunderstandings.

I try my best to not behave the way I don’t like, with my friends. In this case, tit for tat would not be fair play. It wouldn't make me any better than them. Even if a friendship ends, in-spite-of the hurt, I keep in mind that I can make another friend. People come and go, the ones who want to stay in your life will always make sure they do. They won’t make excuses. If I don’t want to be friends with someone anymore, it’s mainly because I’m tired of the same pattern of behavior, which prevents the friendship from growing. What I keep in mind is that I should be my best companion. If I can be happy with myself, I won’t always need friends around me.

It’s true what they say, books and friends should be few and good. It’s better to have few friends who care about you, than many friends who don’t really care about you. The sad thing is that the number of friends you have is given more importance. Whether they are genuine friends or not is not considered much. It's best not to associate popularity with the size of one's friend's circle. It only leads to stereotyping and labelling. That doesn't really define anyone.  

We all need friends, but we need only to make room for those who really love us. Everything happens for a reason. Whoever we meet in life, we do for a reason. It’s part of the learning experience. So long as we don’t give anyone too much power over us, we can be rest assured that any bad experience with them will not cause lasting damage. Neither will any memorable happy experience bind us to them in such a way, that it would be very difficult to let them go when the friendship ends. It’s all easier said than done, but it’s the only way we can protect ourselves from becoming an emotional wreck. We have to make sure that we remember the good memories and learn from the bad ones. That will definitely help us to deal with friendships better and to be better friends.