A True friend is the best possession
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Friendship is described as a relationship of mutual affection between people.
The characteristics of friendship include kindness, love, sympathy, empathy, honesty, loyalty, generosity, forgiveness, understanding, trust and compassion.
True friends enjoy each other’s company and feel free to express one’s feelings to the others and even make mistakes without fear of judgement.
“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allow you to grow” said William Shakespeare. Good friends will love you not because they have to but because they choose to.
Aristotle was of the view that there are three kinds of friendship: Friendship of utility, friendship of pleasure and perfect friendship. Friendship of utility is the union of two or more people with the purpose of accomplishing a task. Friendship of pleasure is formed when people gather regularly to enjoy an activity together and look forward for such meetings.
He said that the highest form of friendship is perfect friendship where having a companion is similar to having another self. Perfect friendship is not dependent on any activity or task as the other two.
Making friends is not an easy task. In general, it gets more difficult with age. Three strategies that can help in making friends are joining organisations where your interests and talents can be shared, showing an interest in other people by cultivating the capacity for listening and making friends online which has been made easy in the modern world.
The General Assembly of United Nations has realised that the solution to many of our problems can be found through fostering friendship. Today, the world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division that undermine peace, development and social harmony among the people of the world.
To confront them, the root causes need to be addressed by promoting a shared spirit of human solidarity. This could be done in many ways but the simplest is through friendship. By accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing ties of trust, we can contribute to the fundamental shifts that are needed to achieve stability and generate passion for a united world.
In 2011, the UN proclaimed 30th of July as the International Day of Friendship with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, and cultures can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities. The UN wanted for the day to involve young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity. “Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together” said Woodrow T. Wilson.
Here are a few suggestions to celebrate the International Day of Friendship.
1. Celebrate friendship – We are all so busy that sometimes friendships can take a back seat. Bring that friendship back through a phone call, email, text or card. Show how important they are to you.
2. Try to make new friends
3. Attend a community event – This can be an opportunity to develop new friendships and cement existing friendships.
4. Make use of books about friendship – One of the most important things that we can teach our children is to how to be a good friend and also how to recognise friendship.
The Friendship Day is a reminder that friends are an important part of a healthy and happy life. Let us keep the spirit of the day throughout the year through the nurturing of our friendships. Albert Camus quoted “Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
R.N.A. de Silva
ndesilva@osc.lk
The writer is a member of the
faculty of the Overseas
School of Colombo.