Hello My Friends

 

 I find it to be an honor to call you my friend even if we have never met. I believe next to family friends are the most important part of life. They can help mold you and make you who you are. The importance of friends starts at a very young age. They can give you confidence and positive self-esteem. If you lack friends at a young age you can have negative self-esteem.

When it comes to friends my knowledge has to do with my life experience and not some college degree. I know that having friends depends a lot in the society and culture that you live in. I am sure most cultures value friends being very important. The best of course is if members of our family are our friends as well. The older we get the more time we actually spend with friends then family. In many ways they become our friends. I believe that friends are so important that while growing up many kids become part of gangs because they want to be accepted. Also, it is the part of bullying as well. I believe most bullies have low self-esteem so they do the bullying to be accepted by those they think have high popularity. If you are being bullied then you have low self-esteem put on you. Early last year I wrote about bullying and I believe it is something important to read if you are having the problem or have a child that has the problem.

Every day when I leave my home I look to see if I can add new friends. I find it a challenge because most of the time it does not materialize. Regardless in how we feel not everyone can become a friend. In some cases they do not want to be friends, or just do not have time to be friends. What is truly rewarding is to have several close friends. In fact I would say it can be rare because most people would say they do not have any close friends.

What I define as a close friend is someone you enjoy spending time with, and you keep in touch. A close friend does not mean that you see them a lot but the time you do is very high quality. A best friend would be someone you care and loves like a brother or sister. I know both can be someone who lives far off as well. I know people who have a close friend or best friend that live across country. They likely keep in touch by email, text, and phone on at least a weekly basis. They meet at least once a year and likely go on vacations together. Their spouses and children are likely close friends as well. The best friend is likely someone you known since childhood or you met at college or work.

So it is important that we each have a few close friends. It is OK to have many that you call friends as well. Maybe you have met them at work or you see them at a coffee shop or grocery store. The most important thing about having friends is to know that when your life is not going well at home or you have a health issue you can speak with them. Give out what may be considered dirty laundry and they will not judge you. It is the time when you know who your true friends are.

Remember to be a friend to someone who can really use one. Do not take for granted that someone has a friend. They may look like they have all things together but they might not. Enjoy the rest of the week my friends.