Marbella Life

I found this online and would like to share it:

How To Recognise A True Friend

"Now more than ever, it seems as if our society is filled with too many artificial friends. These people are typically known as seasonal friends or social climbers, which means they are friends with you only for the short time period that you can provide a benefit for them or are in the scene they happen to be in. A great example would be the night life friend: one who is never usually your friends during the day time.

You are only as good to these people as you are in the scene because you have some sort of social value to them. Many get duped into thinking that these people are their true friends and actually invest a wasted time and money into their company. Another great example here is the college friend. In college, one will say they have many close friends. But once college is over the chances of you staying in touch with more than two of these people is very low.

True friends are extremely hard to come by nowadays, as it is harder than ever to weed out the fakes. Of course everyone hates to admit their friends are fake, but the truth is that you can count the amount of true friends you have on one hand.

Friendship is one of the most important bonds that we have amongst our society and should not be taken for granted. Here is how you correctly spot a true friend that will be there for you under any circumstance:

Loyalty

This is one of the most important factors in a friendship. Far too many times will you meet people who will smile in your face and then talk more shit about you behind your back than your worst enemy. Loyalty is a must here, so every friend you have must be as loyal to you as you are to them. The true friend will stand by your side no matter what and will never abandon you no matter how hard times get. When people are loyal to their friends, through thick and thin, this character trait speaks volumes about their value.

Honesty

Of course with loyalty comes a sense of honesty. But this isn’t the average honesty we are talking about. The type were referring to is the honesty that allows you to tell your friend when they are getting fat or fucking up in life. This is the honesty that allows you to tell them what they don’t want to hear – not because you are looking to upset them, but rather to help them with constructive criticism.

True friends don’t let their friends down...

Whether you need them to wing-man for you or need them for a quick favour here and there, your true friends will never let you down when it comes to this. They are trustworthy in every situation and their loyalty is never to be questioned. They will not leave your side when you are wasted or about to do something really stupid. It is a unwritten, mutual agreement between two friends that they both try as hard as possible not to let each other down in any circumstances.

Don’t put your relationships before a friend...

A friend will be there forever, but a girl/boyfriend will have a short shelf life at best. Far too many times have we seen some of the greatest friendships ruined because girl/boyfriend was put in the mix. Don’t ever let a relationship come between you and your close friends – nothing will make you feel like more of a arsehole once you have lost them both. A true friend is one that understands this concept and never breaks this rule.

Humour

There is always that intangible sense of humour between two friends that is, at times, hard to describe. There are those inside jokes that only you two will find funny that are a mystery to the rest of the world. Humour is one of the greatest bonding factors in friendship. Humour allows two real friends to have a good time, wherever they may be or what situation they are in.

Closing thought

Friends should never let other friends down. It is one of the purest bonds, so don’t ever let fake and artificial friends get in the way of you and your real friends. Those people are usually seasonal and are only as good as the scene you are in."  ~ Elite.

Not sure I agree with everything said here, though I do agree with most of it.  The strength of a friendship can be seen by how well it fends off the unintentionally negative and discordant effects of stresses, life changes and differences of opinion; by how well it remains firm and apart from that which might push it asunder. Many friendships have fallen hopelessly by the wayside. I wonder which of those that remain will endure the rest of the journey? Good and steadfast friends are lights in the darkest nights; rare and impossible to be without. Cherish them