Saturday, May 5, 2007

Who is a true friend

We all have friends. A lot gets talked about friendships. Everyone wants a true friend, and many of us believe that we have a friend who can be called a true friend. What kind of relations do friends share? When can we call a friend a true friend, and when can our friends take us as their true friend. After a romantic relationship, friendships are the most important relationships we can have. Though all of us have family and distant family, most of us rely on friends for advice, comfort and inspiration. How do we define a relation that can be called as one of true friendship?

The very first sign of a very good friend, not necessarily a true friend is that we are not worried about courtesies. You will call your friend at any hour and talk without any thought of time in your mind. Similarly, whenever you need support, you will call a very good friend and ask him/her to help you out. They expect the same from you. Another important trait of such relations is that we are not much worried about exposing ourselves. We speak about everything in our mind without worrying about what our friends will think. We are sure that they will take our talk in the spirit it was made. We are unguarded and open with friends in our talk.

A true friend is a little more than a very good friend. A true friend will support you even if it hurts his/her own interest. A true friend will understand your motives and needs and will be with you without any analysis or criticism. A true friend will come forward to help without any request and be with us in need without showing it or expecting anything in return. With a true friend, you can be sure that you will get help to the extent possible by him/her. Nothing will remain unturned. A mother is a true friend of her children. If we share such relations with an adult we can say that we are true friends.

A true friend makes no excuses of having work or appointments or anything but will be with you whenever you need him/her. In your hour of desperation, a true friend will support you even if the whole world opposes you. A true friend is not an opportunist. A true friend means to have someone who is like mother, as I said earlier. Instead of having hundreds of good friends, if you have a true friend, treat yourself lucky. If you can also become a true friend of someone, you will be blessed, because it is much easier for all of us to expect but very difficult to give. Be a true friend yourself first.

Friendship and love

Friendship and love. Both are so much related to each other. And both are so dissimilar! What are the differences between friendship and love? Is platonic friendship possible between persons of opposite sex? Let us try and understand.

What is friendship? Why do we call a person our friend? When do we call someone a very good friend? If we care for a person, if we are always ready to help that person and if we share most of our thoughts with a person, they are our good friends. We can always count upon our good friends in an emergency. We are always sure that our friend will understand why we acted in a certain way. We need not explain anything to our very good friends. The friendship is so deep and the relationship is so intimate, that most of the things are automatically understood by our friends.

What about love? In a relationship of deep love, all the sharing that we discussed above are taken for granted. But love transcends all this. During love, we are attached with a particular person, while in friendship, one may have many friends. A loving relationship makes one so much attached to the other, that one gets pained if his/her beloved is hurt! Love also involves a physical element. Friendship does not have that. This is a vital difference. Nature gives us love so that the specie can go forward. Nature does not give us friendship.

Your heart beats will never increase in anticipation of meeting your friend. You will not lie awake at night thinking about your friend. You will not feel totally lost, if you don't meet your friend for a few days. You will not have dreams in your eyes thinking about your friend. But in love, you will do all this and much more. Indeed, there is no comparison between love and friendship.

Friendship and sharing

Not many of us think about prisons. Why is prison life a punishment? Because you can not move around and meet people. With friendship, we break the barrier that stops us sharing our life with others. During early childhood, only mother is enough. But observe the pain on the face of a child who has no friends to play with, and you will realize why friends are so important? Why does even a small child need friends? He/she can surely play with parents and enjoy life? Friends are needed because most of them are from the same age group and we relate better with people of our age group. Give it a thought.

Many of us carry a childhood friendship in our adult life. That gives us an opportunity to share memories of the childhood spent together. That's why, when we meet a old childhood friend after a long time, we love to go back to our memories. We go back to those days, when things were much better. One is also known by the friends one keeps. What does this mean? This means that people of similar taste become better friends. That is a big advantage of friendship. To share thoughts about things of common interest.

Many times, something in our life, some incidents etc. can not be shared with anyone but friends. A friend will understand our problem and not lecture us about mistakes. A friend will be with us and will always be for us. That is friendship. Good friends share every thing in their life including the intimate details, and one who has such friends is very lucky. To share is very important. To talk, to discuss, to exchange ideas, to smile, to laugh and to cry together, we need friends. If we have good friends, we should always take care of the friendship and make the bond stronger. A friendship lost is a very big loss. We can not go back to childhood days and make friends again. Value friends, and value the friendship as a treasure.

Connect with friends with love and care. Send them some ecards from time to time to share your care. Here are few especially selected for you. Send them, if you like them.

Do you need friends?

Friendship day is coming nearer. That makes many of us wonder about our friends and our relation with them. Do you nee friends? If yes, why? Why do you need friends? You have your work, some family members, and entertainment. What else do you need to live comfortably?

Friends- their value

We need friends because we want to share. We need friends because we need somebody who will be there with us when we fall into bad time. We need friends because we want to enjoy being in a group. We hate loneliness and family alone cannot make us feel in a group. For that we need friends. We need friends, because we want to let somebody know about our deepest thoughts, our ideas, and our real emotions. Only a good friend can help us share all these. Please view some ecards on friendship and read the text on them. You will find out the answer yourself of the need of friends.

Friendship - celebrate it

We take many things for granted in our life. We take air for granted. We take it for granted that the sun will rise again. Similarly we take it for granted that the friendship will never suffer. But that is false. If we don't water the plant of our friendship regularly, our friendship will suffer and we may create distance with our close friends. We need to value them and value their friendship.

Your friendship personality

What kind of friend you are? What kind of friends do you have? Whether your friendships will last? Can you make good friends? Are you a true friends? There are many questions about friendship. Why not try quizzes to find out about your friendship personality? You will enjoy trying quizzes and sharing with your friends.

What do I mean by friendship personality? Do you remember meeting people, you never liked right from first meeting? And there were some you loved right from the word-Go. There is an attraction and openness about some people which we like and we want to become friends with them. They are honest and reliable. They look like caring persons and have good values. We love them for that. Such people can be relied upon. We feel that such friends will be with us and will always be there for us. We also enjoy their togetherness and personality. You will find their faces smiling most of the times and such people avoid making fun of friends.

Such people have positive friendship personality. They are good human beings and value others and their friendships. They attract friends in droves.

We have to act friendly and outgoing with others to tell them that we are open for a friendly relationship. Our body language has to speak about our openness and our willingness to connect. Only after we develop these traits, shall we look friendly.

What is friendship

Friendship lifts hearts and lengthens lives. It has been hailed as the eventual good by the greatest philosophers, promoted (at least in theory) by all the chief religions and deified by revolutionaries. It even defeats the common cold. The wondrous good in question is friendship. Aristotle's highest goal for men and the third plank of the French revolution - liberty, equality, union - friendship is as old as humanity and as important as love or justice. But while the shelves in one part of the bookshop groan with self-help books on how to snag the ideal partner, and others (usually in the basement) are packed with economic treatises on income distribution and philosophical texts on the character of freedom, friendship barely gets a mention.

While the declaration that "friends are the new family" is an exaggeration, it is certainly the case that friendships figure prominently in both the lives people actually lead and the ones to which they aspire. Television programmes such as Friends and Sex and the City portray a world in which close friendships describe the contours of the participants' lives: parents and children are allowed, at best, walk-on parts. One school of social science sees the emergence of "families of choice", with networks of friends supplanting blood ties. We have parents and siblings; we make friends.

In fact, blood ties remain as tough as ever. Data from the official Social Trends series shows that family is as much the first port of call for maintainance in times of crisis as it was three decades ago. What does seem to be happening is some blurring of the lines between friends and family, what Liz Spencer and Ray Pahl call a "suffusion" of friend and family in their approaching Friendship: the one good thing?. Friendship is not always an unalloyed good, the benefits of friendship are unevenly spread and the impact of friendship on traditional objectives of the centre left, such as parity, diversity and mobility, is mixed.

18 Funny friendship quotes to make you laugh

No one can make you laugh quite the way your friends can, and there's nothing like sharing a few funny friendship quotes with those closest to you to make your day shine a bit brighter.

Here are 18 of my favorite funny friendship quotes to share with those you love. I hope you enjoy these funny friendship quotes as much as I like sharing them with you!

1. "A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

2. "There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money." ~ Benjamin Franklin

3. "Money can't buy friends, but you can get a better class of enemy." ~ Spike Milligan

4. "A true friend stabs you in the front." ~ Oscar Wilde

5. "Marriage is a sort of friendship recognized by the police." ~ Anonymous

6. "An old friend will help you move. A good friend will help you move a dead body." ~ Jim Hayes

7. "Give me one friend, just one, who meets the needs of all my varying moods." ~ Esther M. Clark

8. "Love is blind. Friendship tries not to notice." ~ Anonymous

9. "I have lost friends, some by dath, others through sheer inability to cross the street." ~ Virginia Woolf

10. "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." ~ Thomas Jones

11. "I got a lotta best friends. Some o' them I don't even hardly know!" ~ Archie Bunker

12. "It takes a long time to grow an old friend." ~ John Leonard

13. "We must hang together, or surely we shall hang separately." ~ Benjamin Franklin

14. "Friends are God's ways of apologizing for our families." ~ Anonymous

15. "Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and have her nonsense respected." ~ Charles Lamb

16. "You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." ~ Winnie the Pooh

17 "Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life." ~ Mark Twain

18. "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one." ~ C.S. Lewis

As you can see, funny friendship quotes are a great way to remember what makes our friendships so special and our friends so dear. Share a few of these funny friendship quotes with the friends who make your life a brighter and your days a delight.

The friend crush: Is this love or friendship

He's your good friend. She's your best confidant. You have known each other for a few years and have shared meals, movies, hobbies and vacations. You have confided to each other about your latest love interest and turned to one another for support when the relationship(s) failed. You can't imagine life without your good friend.

But for a while....

You've felt jealous of his dates. You've been overprotective of her since she has been seeing the jerk. You've been having very strong feelings of attraction and a desire for something more than friendship. Could it be that your feelings for him/her have grown into something more? If so, your relationship may have developed into a "friend crush".

You don't know what to do. You know you want to continue spending time together- more time. But it's getting hard. You fantasize about having more with this person and are beginning to feel like a jealous would-be partner. Do you pretend everything is the same? Do you start distancing yourself- hoping your feelings will go back to the way they were? Do you actually TALK directly and honestly with your friend about how you feel?

What will happen to the relationship if you make the WRONG choice?

Just as all people are unique, so are the characteristics of their relationships with others. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this increasingly common dilemma. So, let's take a look at your options. You can:

* ignore your feelings, keep your boundaries in check and pretend everything is status quo

In order to choose this option, you must be able to deny your feelings so well that even you don't know what they are. You will also have to continue being comfortable on the sidelines while someone else has the relationship with this person that you desire. You will most likely be asked what you think of this or that person and be expected to be happy and supportive of your friend when they meet the right someone for them. In return for all this, you will still have your friend.

* begin to spend less time with your friend (crush) while seeking out new friendships to pursue and strengthen

This option will most likely cause confusion and hurt on the part of your friend who will wonder what happened. They may be understanding and accepting of your need to spread your wings and support you in doing what you need to do. Either way, you will see less of them and your relationship can weaken and perhaps disappear altogether as they move on with new people. If you can distance yourself for a while and no longer feel the romantic butterflies, you can always give them a call and may be able to pick up somewhere near where you left off.

* continue the relationship with your own hidden agendas - a desire for romantic intimacy and the hope that the person will realize that they feel the same way

If they become involved with someone else in the meantime, you can work to sabotage their new relationship or you can leave them wondering where all your anger and hurt feelings are coming from. You can spend a lot of time and energy handling it this way, without anything to show for your efforts but the loss of a good friend.

* have an open and honest discussion with your friend regarding your new feelings for them

This is the choice that seems to be the hardest for folks to make. Often what I hear from people in this position is that they fear "ruining the friendship" if they discuss their feelings honestly. While this is a very understandable concern, it isn't well thought out. It is emotional, not rational. Look again at the other options. Every one will bring about a change in your current friendship.

Why?

Once your feelings have changed, so does the relationship. Ignoring them, hiding them or distancing yourself will lessen your closeness and the positive dynamics that flow between good friends. You can't go back. You need to decide how you want to move forward or if this is an option for you. . It is also possible in choosing this option that you will learn that they have similar feelings for you that they were afraid to reveal. Therefore choosing this option could result in romance and a love relationship based on true friendship.

Intimacy exists in all close relationships. It is the ability to be completely open and vulnerable to another without fear of harm or rejection. So, by definition, we cannot be intimate with another while hiding or denying our true feelings and needs to them.

The choice will always be yours. Choosing wisely is about really knowing the options, the consequences they bring and what will be best for you and your friend.

The importance of friendship

My students and clients have constantly heard me stress that our Martial Art is more than just a physical discipline; that it is a discipline that develops both the mind and body. This is so important that Soke Masaaki Hatsumi, the grand master of our lineages, has made it the primary thrust of just about every one of his books about Ninpo and Martial Arts in general.

The presence of mind that your training demands helps you make wise and thoughtful decisions. Often, these decisions involve choosing others as friends - and all of us would like to choose good friends - people we can consider real "team players."

It's sometimes very mysterious why we choose who we do as team players. Often we like a person right away based on some intuitive thought or feeling. When asked, we say that it just "felt" right. Other times we may observe someone for a while with admiration, and build up to a formal introduction.

Friendship is a wonderful thing and is vitally important for personal growth and success. It can be found on the Ninja's Kongokai mandala used in Japanese Mikkyo esoteric mind-science training. Found in the 'wind' realm which represents surrendering oneself to a greater good where the total result produced is equal to much more than just the sum of the parts added together.

Friendship itself is sometimes sparked by what we call "vibes," or a strange and electric power of attraction. This is what gives it such a terrific and seemingly magical power to tie people together so closely. All the same, our first impressions can often be mistaken. We've all made mistakes before in the friends we've chosen. Often, we'd like to ignore, forget, or believe that we had anything to do with the selection, but we shouldn't. It's these lessons that remind us that we are human and make mistakes, as-well-as the fact that not everyone we meet will enter into a relationship (whether business, personal, etc.), for the same reasons that we do. It's not right or wrong - good or bad. It's just life.

There's really no way to be 100% certain that everyone, or anyone, you choose as a friend will turn out to be a good team player. But, the Martial Arts Academy 'is' a terrific place to meet new people, especially those with many of the same interests, and often with the same focus and desire for purpose, power, and interdependence (as opposed to dependence or co-dependence) in their affiliations. Many lifelong friendships have begun in the dojo ("martial arts training hall"). Here are some tips on how to choose friends that might be right for you.

[a] Look for people who share the same basic values that you do. The Martial arts teach certain values and principles that you should know to look for. Honesty, respect, individuality - these are all good qualities that a lot of people share. Having friends with these qualities will make it a lot easier for you to feel relaxed and at ease when you're with them. You want to develop friendships that will be both fun and rewarding - mutually beneficial to all parties involved. One person should never carry the burden of trying to make a relationship "work."

[b] Look for people who respect your decisions. Your friends will have different tastes than you do. They should respect your freedom of choice, just as you should respect theirs. Sometimes you may feel that a friend is not making a positive choice. Discuss these issues. Nothing is more important to friendship than communication and honesty. Discuss things with parents or significant others and your instructor(s) as well.

[c] Look for people who are real team players. You know what that means: people who are willing to stick by you through thick and thin, who will be there when you need them, and will show you the understanding that you in turn give back. A friend you know you can depend on is one you will probably have for life.

There will be times when you feel that a friend of yours is consistently making bad choices, or is not treating you with respect. The Ninja Warrior takes pride in understanding: try to see where your friend is coming from, and try to resolve any differences you might have. Don't be afraid to talk to your parents, spouse, or your instructor. They have the benefit of experience, and are always looking out for your best interests. There are very few things as precious as having good friends, and you should not let them go easily. Hold onto your friendships; let them know you value them and do your best to solve problems as quickly as they arise. Trust your instincts and follow your heart!

How to get a lot of friends on MySpace

If you are a MySpace junkie like myself, your MySpace profile is one of the most important things in your life. You may have worked months to build up a friend list and have tons of comments. But have you ever visited a friends profile, and saw that they had over 1000 more friends than you? Even more, they have 20 new comments every day? You probably wonder how they became so popular so quickly. Well it’s much easier than you think.

Today’s new status symbol isn’t your car, your clothes, or even your home. Today’s new status symbol is having tons of friends on MySpace. Building this friend list can be tedious and boring, especially if you don’t have many friends in real life that are on MySpace. But the fun part of MySpace is making new friends, or even just showing off your profile. Having a huge friend list allows you access to tons of people at one time. You can post bulletins to tell everyone at once what’s going on in your life. You even can invite all these people to your gig or party. Better yet, you can post comments on their profile and let people that aren’t even on your friend list see what you have to say. This friend list becomes very important if you are a social person, so why not make it as huge as possible.

You can start by spending a day surfing MySpace and browsing for people that meet a certain criteria. Then adding them manually as a friend and waiting for the response. Now if you are adding friends for the purpose of just being able to send bulletins of comments, this can get very boring. This is how I discovered MySpace friend adding programs. There are tons of programs out there like FriendAdder that will automatically add up to 500 friends per day, send comments, send messages, and search throughout the MySpace world for keywords that you choose. Programs like these have made making MySpace friends so effective and easy.

This is also great for web promotions as well. Create a MySpace profile about what you are promoting. Then use an automatic friend adder to bring people to your profile. This is such a great way to increase traffic to your profile and potentially gain new fans or customers.

So instead of adding friend the old fashion way, why not automate it. This has made my MySpace experience so much better, and has allowed tons of people worldwide to see what I have to say at a push of a button.