Do you know you can be surrounded by friends and still feel lonely?
I fondly remember growing up as a child; I had many loyal friends my age, It was so fun because there were no emotions tied to our friendship; it was born out of sheer admiration for each other.
The thing with childhood friends was it was so easy to get; you can naturally make friends at school or in the neighbourhood and children will come over to play even when they don’t know you for there was no formal introduction. It could be that you both share a similar passion for the same recreational activities, and that’s how sincere friendship began.
I came to realize that in the eye of a child, everyone is a friend, children will relate to anyone their age until their parents inform them not to. Life was so exciting growing up; every friend you had would stand by you by any means possible, but the moment you become adults, your childhood friend will no longer be attached to you like the way they used to be.
Today, one of the most challenging tasks is finding a faithful friend, allow me to put it this way, there are friends, and there are fair-weather friends. A friend will inevitably have your back during your gravest moments while a fair-weather friend is one who is always present in your life when things are good but absent when things are bad. Do you know you can be surrounded by friends and still feel lonely? Some friends will demand you to do everything for them, but when it comes to returning the favour, they are repeatedly missing in action.
The world is now mundane, if you don’t have money, then your social circle of friends would be small, but when you are wealthy, your circle of friends become bigger. The dearest thing to a brother is a friend; your brother cannot always be physically present; this is why a friend takes the role of a brother.
The society sees extraordinary achievements in education and employment; they forget that the most significant success a person can ever attain is having a good friend. A good friend knows when you are suffering inside and outside, they correctly understand how you talk, eat, laugh, they know how you reason, they defend you when others criticize you, all these accurately represent the unique attribute of a friend. If your current friends do not fit in these attributes, then he or she is a stranger.
Remember, as kids, when you used to play, hide and seek, who was always there for you? That is a friend. Can you recall when you almost got bullied in school, who had your back? That is a friend. Lamentably, we don’t boast of that anymore. Why can’t we behave the way we did as kids, what has suddenly changed in us today, why is it so difficult to have a dear friend? Take some time out and examine how children behave with their peers; you will see the concrete definition of friendship.
The key point I am seeking to make is that nobody survives in this world alone; this is why we kill loneliness with the commanding presence of our spouse, family and friends. If you have a friend who has been with you through the hard times and still standing, then you are an achiever. Do you ever wonder why people commit suicide? They lack good friends who will talk them away from suicidal thoughts. A friend will never let you go down in the mud. Think about this, you can achieve a lot with a devoted, supportive family, but you can accomplish way more with a good friend. As always, it’s my opinion.
Photo Credit: Ann Usman
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