I truly believe that there are no coincidences in life when it comes to friendship and that the person who wanders into our life comes for some purpose. Often it appears evident why we have become friends with another, yet sometimes, because of our wide differences in character, views and overall lifestyle, it doesn't seem to make any sense at all. Invariably, it takes time, often years and years, for us to see the bigger picture and to realise the true importance of that particular friend in our life at the time they first entered it.
I do distinguish friendship from acquaintenship and whereas acquaintences may come and go, your friends will come to stay in your affections. Also, friendship requires no words to communicate either message or intent, whereas acquaintences are often no more than people you see around from time to time.
Friends come in many forms and the precise nature of the friendship is usually determined by the perculiarities of the circumstances in which you first met and felt an instant bond.Most of us have a school friend who will always remain our friend and some women who have a baby in the same maternity ward as another woman they have never previously known, may become lifelong friends. Wherever you met or under whatever circumstances, it is the sharing of a particular experience and a special moment in your past that created the emotional bond between you both.
Each of knows the true value of a good friend. A good friend enables us to know that we need never feel alone again. Just as playing with a person of greater skill in most sports can improve one's own scale of competencies, likewise, there can be much merit in the practice of choosing a friend who is better than ourselves. It is harder to behave selfishly in the presence of a selfless friend.The simple truth is that good friends bring out the best in us, by simply being themselves!
During my lifetime I have known a few good friends upon whom I could depend, whatever the circumstances, and without whom, I would feel a vital piece of the jigsaw lacking if I had a big puzzle to contend with. There have also been friends, that were we stood side by side in the trenches of a battlefield during a war, that I'd be prepared to give my life for, as I know they would unthinkingly do likewise.
I once heard some chap tell another that a real friend would never allow you to take the blame for something wrong they'd done. That comment instantly transported me back to the days of my childhood, a time when I didn't always own my own actions.
When I was young and did something wrong and tried to blame it on one of my siblings, my mother always knew I was trying to escape my responsibility. She would say, 'Billy Forde, don't give me that old cat's tale. Why do you always blame it on the dog?'
Isn't it strange how mother's always address you by your Christian name only when they are loving you and include both Christian and surname when they are chastising you?" William Forde: July 23rd, 2016.