I do not know if there has ever been another time in history when the terms love and friendship have been used as promiscuously as they are at present. We are told constantly that we must be "Friends" with and "LOVE" everyone. Leaders of religion, and other movements, declare that they "love" followers they have and will never meet. Enthusiasts of personal-growth workshops and encounter groups weekends emerge from their experiences announcing that they "love" all people everywhere. Most "Chat Line" and "Test" messages contain at least one LOL and most other correspondence will be closed with a Love You.
Just as currency, with the never ending demand for a growing economy, and higher wages, with more employee benefits, has less and less purchasing power or real value, so the words "Friend and Love" through an analogous process of inflation, through being used less and less discriminatively are progressively emptied of meaning.
What then is friendship?
Friendship, like love, by its very nature, entails a process of discrimination, of learning, of reaching out, of selection. Friendship-like love- is our response to what represents our highest values. Friendship like love is a response to distinctive characteristics possessed by some but not all. Other wise what would be the tribute of friendship or love? Why would we bother to say that someone is our friend or that we love someone?
Really, if your friends or loved ones were to ask why you care for them, consider what their reaction would be if told, "Why shouldn't I call you my friend or say that I love you? All human beings are identical. Therefore, it doesn't make any difference whom I call friend or say that I love. So it might as well be you. Not very inspiring or uplifting is it?
Friendship and love are very similar, because friendship is the first necessary step to love.Friendship and love are NOT feelings or emotions; both require a conscious effort in order to find a start and both require a continuing and sustained conscious effort in order to grow and develop into something worthwhile. Above all a friend must be someone you can communicate with and you must be able to do so freely, without any need to censor your thoughts, feelings, or emotions, for fear of offending a fragile ego. And you must never try to hide your passion for without passion, how can love, or friendship, ever grow or develop.
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