Don't Allow The Grass To Grow On The Path of Friendship

"One who looks for friends without faults will never find one" is an old Hasidic (ancient jew, although there are modern hasidics now) saying. This proverb is interesting and quite profound.I fell for it immediately. If a person is searching for the perfect friendship, well, sorry to say, but there isn't really one. I mean, it doesn't exist. Perfect friendships, if there are any, can only be superficial and clearly sits on the surface. If you like to be in a dreamworld where your friends are there to only say good things to you, to fan your idiosyncracies and tell you its okay to do this and to do that when its not, then chances are you won't be in a very satisfied relationship with them. Homer, author of 'The Illiad', the epic story of Troy, said 'A sympathethic friend can be quite as dear as a bother'. This is true. Some friends are so close, they can be passed of unofficially as your sibling. There is nothing like having that kind of friend when you are in trouble, especially when you find it difficult to open your mouth to your actual relative or siblings. I believe, the friends we have around us, not the social butterfly ones, mind you, where they are only there fleetingly and seem to fly off every now and then, but those really close ones you can count on, exist in your life for different reasons. You connect with one friend on one level concerning an issue and its something you see eye to eye with. With another friend, you do agree on a different issue and at the same time you might even disagree with the first friend on this issue. Its nothing to do with your love or friendship with one another when you disagree on an issue. Its just a personal preference. It does not mean that when you are friends, you have to agree on every single issue all the time. If you want friends that agree with you always, then maybe they are not someone you really feel comfortable with, and maybe its time to re-evaluate your feelings and what is it exactly you want out of a friendship. If you have an uncomfortable relationship with someone, you will feel the reluctance to say something in your own opinion or to avoid being too forward with that person. I like to have someone to tell me off once in a while to keep me in check. We can get carried away with things and friends are there to stop us from making a fool out of ourselves. Euripides, considered to be one of the last tragedy writer of classical Athens, writing over 90 plays in his right, said 'One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives'. I love this. It's not that I don't cherish my relatives. I have many cousins who have come to my aid in my time of need and I appreciate them and hold them dear to my heart always. They are cousins, blood is thicker than water and that's why we stand up for each other during tough times. But unfortunately, for every 2 cousins who were there for me, there were 10 more relatives who were not supportive. This is a big ratio. For each 10 relatives who were unsupportive, I have one friend who were be so dear to me that I am overwhelmed with their kindness which never wavered even when the bad times are seemingly over and I'm back on my toes. My hats off to them. I will never forget them and their kindness. These are people who are not blood related but yet, they are able to look pass all that, to lend a hand or give me a shoulder to cry on. I love all my friends. Sometimes it is difficult to hear something you might not want to hear from a close friend, but that's what they are there for, to keep us grounded, to keep us on our toes. As we grow older or move forward, we should be around people we love and who treat us like a member of their family. It's the ultimate recognition and acceptance you'll find in your quest for friendship.