1. Friends hurt each other. Like family members, friends hurt each other. It doesn’t feel good, but it doesn’t always indicate that the person isn’t your true friend. We are most vulnerable to the people we care about, which means it’s easier for them to hurt us. Nonetheless, being hurt by a friend doesn’t have to be the end of the road for that friendship.
It’s important to accept that the love between friends opens the door for hurt, yet true friends can maintain a friendship through rough times.
2. Friends keep secrets. The levels of intimacy, trust and connection are different in every friendship. In the most intimate friendships, friends know virtually everything about each other. In other friendships, you may not share each other’s entire life story or expose every skeleton in your closet. But that doesn’t mean one friendship isn’t a true friendship.
A friend who keeps certain aspects of their personal life private can still be a true friend. You don’t need to know everything about a person to know that there is something about them that you love.
3. Every friendship is different. Everyone appreciates a true friend who has been around for decades, proving loyalty through tests and trials. But not every friend has to fit inside this box.
One of the best things about friendship is that it comes in many different forms. A friend may be someone who simply says the right thing at the right time on your Facebook wall. Or someone who loves to listen when you need to be heard. Not every friend has everything, so it’s important to appreciate what each friend brings to the table.
4. Friends aren’t perfect. With a long list of what it takes for someone to qualify as a friend, you will constantly find yourself weeding people out. Friends make mistakes. Friends do things that you disapprove of. Friends don’t always communicate properly. Friends have issues they haven’t properly dealt with.
Just because you aren’t fond of certain aspects of a person’s life, doesn’t mean they can’t have a role as your friend. Through their imperfections, many friends teach us love, patience and acceptance.
5. Reason, Season, and Lifetime Friendships. Not every friend is a forever friend—and that’s okay. Some people come into your life for a very specific reason, and their friendship may be just what you need at the time.
Unfortunately, people grow apart, friendships fall apart, and the time may come to let a friend go. When that time comes, it doesn’t mean the person was never your friend. It simply means that their season has passed.
6. Friends aren’t always there. Some friends are present on a regular basis, particularly whenever you need them. This is something quite worthy of appreciation, but it doesn’t have to exist in every friendship.
If you’re in California, you may never embrace your online friend in Japan. But if that friend adds value to your life in some way, it is a true friendship. A friend is someone you share a meaningful connection with, but they aren’t always people who are physically by your side.
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