The Simple Value of Friends
This is quite obvious, but let’s take a fresh look — friends. I know
many people, and I for one am the same, who don’t invest seemingly
enough time with friends. Many people find their own company and the
company of things more a priority that investing time building
friendships. And that’s okay too.
I was musing on some of the advantages friends bring. For starters they
provide companionship — everybody needs companionship. This is
essentially why people get romantically involved and married. Besides
the sexual needs of the guy and the security and affection needs of the
woman, they both desire companionship. Below is part of a biblical poem
about friendship, partnership, or marriage:
It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!
Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.
By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.
In hard times friends can be invaluable. Whilst we don’t want to abuse
our friendships, our friends provide for us a quiet sounding board and
some assurance of the ever-present dangers that threaten to swallow us
whole. Sometimes all we need is an empathetic ear and someone to ’sit
Shiva’ with us.
Friends provide perspective. They can give us a view of reality, and
they can also safely and honestly give us feedback on our, at times,
skewed version of that same reality. To have a trusted friend who can
also provide that nugget of advice, strengthening, and encouragement is
huge.
Lastly, whilst this article doesn’t set out to be all-encompassing,
friends provide unity of strength… the three-stranded rope that isn’t
easily snapped. In trade union terms I remember the credo, “United we
stand, divided we fall.” It’s a military colloquialism I’m sure and
would work for all types of team work related endeavors.
Friendship: it’s something to consider.
Copyright (c) 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.