Sunday, June 8, 2008

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.
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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:
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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!
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Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 endeavours.
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Friendship: it’s something to consider.
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Copyright © 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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