True Friendship

Hello,

Over the course of my life I have been connected to many people. These connections came from family, school, business, and the majority, by just meeting people. My address book currently has 1028 entries. Allowing 30% of these to be purely business related, that leaves over 700 individuals. This means I could talk to a different person every day for nearly two years before having to call the first one again.

My wife Liz is a true friend, so is my Mother, my Sister and my Son. Of all the others, being completely truthful, I probably share true friendship with two dozen people.

So we are clear, I need to define what I mean by "true friendship". A true friend is only concerned in helping the other person get what they want. There is no hidden agenda in true friendship. True friendship is defined not by what happens when two people agree, but by what happens when their viewpoints differ.

This week has given me the opportunity to examine the area of friendship in a little more detail. From last Tuesday to Saturday morning we had the honor to provide hospitality for a Rotarian couple visiting from South Africa. Although Liz and I had never met Shan and John before last Tuesday, we spent four delightful days in their company showing them around Rochester and the surrounding area. In that time we developed a firm friendship based on the shared aims of Rotary and a joint desire to enjoy many of the activities our geographical area has to offer.

In direct contrast, today I was saddened that another two friendships may come to a rather abrupt end due to my own rather short sighted actions. After examining the truth of what had transpired, I realized that I may have been trying to "clever" and "right" in several of the interactions. Not the actions of a true friend at all. Although I am saddened at the prospect of losing two friendships, I do know if I am really honest with myself and am prepared to fully apologize, if this is a true friendship, then it will be repaired in due course.

Here's to an abundance of True Friendships for everyone.

Have a great week,

Malcolm