Friendship

Friendship, being a source of happiness, is a necessary aspect of living. It binds us healthy relationship, as well as serves as a useful communication link among us. Our friendship with others in the society will give us a sense of security & belonging, besides a feeling strength & vitality. Moreover, it gives us the opportunity to satisfy our wish to love & help others, and in turn, to have our help & services reciprocated by them in equal measure. Friendship, is, therefore a two way process. Besides linking us with the rest of society, it serves a good conduit through which others may influence us.

     
       Friendship plays an important role in shaping our personality. Through our family backgrounds influence our behavior considerably, it is the social environment in which we live, that determines to a great extent our attitude & outlook towards society. Whereas a good friendship results in a healthy personality polished behavior, a bad one leads to the opposite outcomes. Hence, choosing friends is a crucial task we undertake in our lives. 

     However, since making friends is an excercise we start very early in our lives; when we are at the least mature, it is almost impossible to make a foolproof choice, ourselves. Therefore, members of the family, particularly our parents, have the responsibility to advise us on our choice of friends. We, in turn, should accept their advice, however unacceptable it might seem to be. A happy & secure family, and a set of decent, dependable friends, will mean that we are on the right path towards realizing a successful life.

   
       As friendship nourishes emotions like affection & solidarity, as well as helps develop such qualities as team spirit, responsibility, sincerity & faithfulness, its contribution to the civility, stability & welfare of the society is immense. Moreover, the variety in the conduct & attitude of our friends will develop alertness, dexterity & versatility in our won behavior. While taking care not to let our thoughts & actions hurts or harm our friends, we should, in turn be alert in avoiding the adverse effects our friends' conduct may have on us. We have the responsibility, in the interests of worthwhile friendship, to make our friends feel at ease whenever we are with them.

   Our tendency to make friends, like our education, starts very early in life, & usually extends right till the end of it, even though our friends keep changing with age & circumstances. If in childhood we look for companions in play, in adult life we prefer those who share our interests & ideas, & are willing to support us. Such friendships as will develop from shared aspirations & ideals, are the prime movers of many worthwhile human activities, like social reformation & scientific discoveries. Friendship that enables proper coordination of thoughts & actions can thus greatly contribute to the welfare of society.

 
       However, friendship may not always be healthy & beneficial. The wrong choice of friends in early life may push a person into a life of devil & vice. Just as the causes of our success may be traced to inspiring friendships, so our drawbacks will point to undesirable ones.

   Friendship, in order to provide all round benefit, should be based on trust & sincerity. It should not be fostered with the intention of cheating or exploiting others. Friendship is best tested in times of trouble. True friendship is indicated by the help one gives one's friends in their difficult times. As the saying goes. "A friend in need is a friend indeed".