We as social animals create a special type of bond with some set members of our social class. Thus we call these set of people our friends, we feel a certain type of happiness around them.
We want to please them in whatever way we can even though not always but most of times. We crave to talk with them and have an amazing relationship with them.
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Friendship is used to distinguish between two different people in our lives.
What is friendship?
Wikipedia defines friendship as a relationship between two mutual people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an association.
Since we have an understanding of what friendship is, let’s look at some of the characteristics of friendship:
Affection
Kindness
Love
Virtue
Sympathy
Empathy
Honesty
Altruism
Loyalty
Mutual understanding
Compassion
Enjoyment of each other’s company
Ability to be oneself
Ability to express one’s feelings to others
Ability to make mistakes without fear of judgment from the friend
Types of Friendship
According to Aristotle the great philosopher, there are three types of friendship
Friendship of Utility: These exist between you and someone who is useful to you in some way. For example, the guy or lady who gives you a ride home from work every day.
Friendship of Pleasure: This exists between you and those whose friends you chat with, play with or simply do fun stuffs with
Friendships of the good: These are based on mutual respect and admiration. This friendship takes longer to build than the other two types but they are also more powerful and enduring. They often arise when two people recognize that they have similar values and goals. We all have friends like that, people who mean a lot to us
Friendship cuts across culture. It’s often not limited to people we have seen but also to people we haven’t seen. Friends are people who understand us better than everyone else. They are the shoulder we can lean on at times of need and wants; they are always there for us.
It's not limited to humans, Friendship can be forged with pets and other wild animals.
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Looking through the types of friendship, the best type is friendship of the good. It something that last sometimes till our deathbed. We all should strive to be surrounded by those types of friends.
Life is more beautiful when we are surrounded by loved one and those who we can call friends.