Friends

We have been told that a language is a "living thing", meaning that it is not static, immobile, unchangeable. Several things can change in a language: the spelling of a word, its pronunciation, even its meaning. Also grammar often gets modified by a different way of using it that becomes very common. But here I am mainly interested in the meaning of a specific word. The word is friend and, consequently, friendship. The word "friend" is commonly defined as referring to a person whom you know and whom you have a bond of mutual affection with. It is also a person whom you like and trust. An Italian proverb says, "Who finds a friend finds a treasure". True. Now, going back to the fact that the meaning of words can change, I wonder if this can be referred also to  the words friend and friendship. It seems that nowadays almost everybody is your "friend". You just meet someone and they ask you (or you ask them) to become "friends" on any of the available social networks. You talk, write, exchange information, joke etc. with them, so you say they are your friends. You might also consider as such your neighbors, people you meet at parties and / or you work with. You do not necessarily meet with them on a regular basis (if you ever), probably you are not even interested in knowing them in the way that a real friendship would imply. You might wonder what my point is here. And here it is: I invite you to make a check on your personal situation. Think and honestly find out who you real friends are, how many they are and, most of all, if you believe they are true friends. Ask yourself, "In case I had to move somewhere else, would I really miss them? Would they really miss me?" How wonderful it is to experience the warm feeling of being really loved and cared for by someone for whom you have meaning, you represent something precious, valuable, someone who enjoys spending time with you and is always available to help and support you. And you are ready to do the same for them. I know that I am writing nothing new, here. I just invite you to review your list of the friends you have in your life. And decide how many of them deserve such a "title". You might be surprised!