True friendship means you are no more important than the other (Community)

I have the pleasure to write a response to Al-Gaad?s article entitled ?Friendship is seldom lasting but between equals*? published on June 25. I always enjoy reading his articles because they speak out about reality and try to expose social faults to the public to be corrected. But this time I would have to slightly disagree with what he included in his article* as he says that ?friendship is a strong emotional relationship* built between two people of the same sex.? This may sound illogical* but I contest Al-Gaad?s definition that says an emotional relationship may be between a man and woman* not between the same sex. I do agree that a certain type of emotional relationship can only be between a man and woman and not between a man and a man and vice versa. But friendship is a difficult word. It means something different for every person. For this reason it isn?t easy to define it. People are social beings. Friendship is very important for most people. Some even believe that friendship is more important than love. Good friendship is certainly more valuable than gold. If you have a good friend or find someone with a soul akin to yours* your problems disappear and life isn?t so sad. Friendship is a great art. Love has a natural instinct behind it; friendship has no natural instinct behind it. Friendship is something conscious; love is unconscious. This is why friendship is greater than love. Friendship means you are no more important than the other ? that is the soul of real friendship. Another point I would disagree with is ?a successful and permanent friendship can only hold between people who are socially* emotionally and financially equal.? This isn?t true because although people can be equal in terms of financial and social status* how can they be equal emotionally? Therefore it doesn?t matter how financially* emotionally* and socially equal two friends are. What is more important is how understanding and respectful they are to each other* which is the only bridge to everlasting* real* and outstanding friendship. To be a friend and to have friends is one of the noblest goals we can try to achieve. Friendship is complex and has many facets* but it certainly exhibits the following five attributes* as stated by David Claasen: ?Friendship means understanding and being understood* friendship means affirming and being affirmed* friendship means accepting and being accepted* friendship means helping and being helped* and friendship means forgiving and being forgiven.?The third point I would contest is the idea of Romanticism and Classicism in friendship. It doesn?t matter how classic or romantic your friend is. What matters is how expansive* faithful* respectful* polite* considerate* and trustworthy he or she is. Moreover* friendship is something very valuable yet it is something that cannot be bought. It must be protected. You have to take care of friendship because it is very easy to lose a friend but much more difficult to recover it again. It is like a treasure and that must be kept safe. If you don?t* it will not last. It is soft* so don?t scratch!Have you ever wondered what the real essence of the saying ?a friend in need is a friend indeed? is? People talk about the true value of friendship without knowing what it stands for. True friendship is when there are no formalities. It is when the person you are talking about is counted as family. It is when the relationship you share reaches a stage when even if you don?t correspond for some time* your relationship remains intact. Best friends need not meet up often to make sure that the friendship remains constant. The trust between best friends is such that if one friend gets into trouble* the other will not think twice to help. If the bond between two friends is strong* true friends can endure even long distances. They find a way of keeping in touch despite busy schedules. True friendship never fades away; in fact* it grows better with time. True friends don?t need a posh place to hang out. Their most precious hideout is each others? rooms! True friendship thrives on trust* inspiration and comfort. Best friends come to know when the other person is in trouble* merely by listening to their ?hello? over the phone. True friends don?t desert each other when there is trouble. They face it together and support each other* even if it hurts the other individual?s interest. Best friends don?t analyze each other; they don?t have to. They accept each other?s positive and negative qualities alike. Nothing is hidden between true friends; they know each other?s strengths and weaknesses. Best friends won?t stand for any outsider commenting or criticizing their friendship* and they can put up a very firm resistance if anyone does so.True friends are not opportunists. They don?t help because they have something to gain from it; they help because that?s what friends do. True friendship is selfless. Best friends support each other* even when the whole world is against them. It is not easy getting true friends* and if you have even one true friend* consider yourself blessed. In this world of cynics and backstabbers* there are still some people who are worth being friends with. To conclude* I hope that I have clarified some notions regarding friendship and how it should go down the right path without bothering my lovely and close friend Al-Gaad....

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