Friendship, in an uncomplicated manner, is referred to as a mutual attachment between two or more people. However, it is not just a single kind of relationship. It has diverse degrees depending on each individual’s approach of interacting with his/her fellow. One can have situational friendship, casual friendship, or close friendship. Friendship is such a vital concept in achieving a delightful and purposeful life. Up to this point in time, I cannot think of a single person who can live without a friend. It is like music – universal. It unites everyone regardless of their culture and tradition, background and personality or whatsoever; it can apply uniquely to all people in their own special ways.
“Friends must enjoy each other’s company, they must be helpful to one another, and they must share a common commitment to the good.” – This is how Aristotle pictures a perfect friendship (ayushveda.com). For him, these principles are important in order to establish a harmonious relationship between friends. He believes that no single person would choose to live without friends even if he has everything he wants. However, there are not a few divergent views about friendship. According to the website www.friendship.com, it is a matter of similarity – “Birds of the same feather flock together”; makes sense, doesn’t it? Friends are those who can see or can reflect themselves with one another. They are alike. It is as if they share common knowledge and wisdom, esteem, affection and respect. In short, what links them is their commonality – their same tastes and outlook in life. One quote also by the philosopher Aristotle which may help you further understand what this context talks about is this, “Friends are one single soul in two bodies.” It means that it is as if they are just a single entity possessing the same instincts and understanding of the world – that is what friends are, people who understand each other as if they are one’s self.
On the other hand, Cicero has his own perception with regard to friendship. Based on his on his philosophy found at www.ayushveda.com, when it comes to this concept, the most essential trait one must possess is honesty. It must be possessed by each individual; otherwise, it is not a true friendship. In addition to this, one must give help to his friend without expecting that his friend will return the favor to him/ he believes that there is no room for hesitation when it comes to helping a friend, thus, readiness is a virtue. He also tells us that we must not compromise our morals when times come that our friend’s morals do not fit ours. What we can do is to help them realize that what they are doing is against our norms. We also have to help them see what the right thing to do is. For him, ignorance is the cause of evil; therefore, we must not tolerate our friends’ mistakes. And lastly, he sees that the reason why broken friendships occur is that someone in that relationship has changed his attitude negatively. Moreover, in order to avoid differences, they must be in equal footing; there must be no superiority so no one will be annoyed at being surpassed.
As what was said in the introduction, friendship is not just a single entity for it has diverse degrees depending on how each person approaches it like in Aristotle and Cicero’s situation – they differ on their point of view towards it. It is primarily the reason why there are different types of friendship in order for us to identify in what exact level we are with our companions. According to the article “Different Types of Friendship”, a casual friendship is different from situational friendship in a sense that the former has something to do with sexual or near-sexual relationship between two people who are not committed to share a formal romantic situation while the latter, it is a kind of relationship wherein there is a mutual understanding and connection with the people we meet everyday. But when something changes and keeping in touch becomes a predicament, distance between friends widens. The two, however, are different from close friendship. In this relationship, distance does not matter and they still have the same understanding for one another over time. In relation to this, love is oftentimes tackled alongside this topic. The truth is that they are closely related in a way that they both involve strong inter-personal ties between two people. Moreover, there are two types of love: the platonic love and the romantic love. Between the two, it is in platonic love where friendship is more likely to be related because in that type, the connection is deep but there is no sexual element unlike romantic love where attraction is much deeper, thus it might lead to sexual relationship.
Friendship truly has a wide array of definition in which they tackle all its aspects, but “all roads lead to Rome.” No matter how diverse the definition of friendship is, they all lead to one thing; they all imply that the concept of friendship is important in our lives because everyone needs a companion in this journey. Like what was said in www.facebook.com, an individual is expected to meet at least 3 true friends in his lifetime. Friendship is a must-keep that must be taken care of with pure love and trust just as to how we love ourselves and our family. It is why I am glad I have my friends with me, I love them with all my heart! How about you, have you already found a friendship to keep?
Reference List:
Retrieved on November 30, 2009 at http://www.ayushveda.com/festivals/friendshipquotes.htm
REFLECTION:
I had fun while i am writing this essay because it makes me realize too how important the concept of friendship in our life is. It made me love my friends even more! So far, of all the essays I wrote, this one satisfied me the most! But it can be better I think if i will add more friendship quotes and examples situations. Next time! =)
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