Month: February 2006

for some, friendship is the exchange of goods and benefits; for others it is more of an exchange of accompaniment..

though i wouldnt necessarily concur with the latter, i do pity those who treat their friends as business targets..

i wonder, how would one define companionship without using the word “exchange”?.. it depresses me to think that something we normally value so much is in any form of trading system..

when i help others, i dont expect anything in return.. so i ask myself, why would i choose to help others? the reason seems to be so simple and even i cannot understand the nature of this answer.. it is merely because i like to see the smile on their face or the satisfied expression or any indication that shows i’ve made a difference in the other persons matter.. sometimes the help is so effortless that i wouldnt even realize that i made a difference, but perhaps i am used to behave in such way and receive such reflections to the extent that this process is common to me..

if i must, then the exchange i am proceeding would be that i often expect the “fuzzy warm feeling”.. how is this different than receiving factual goods or benefits? i dont think there is to be honest.. they all serve the same purpose, to make ourselves feel satisfied and thinking that it is a worthwhile experience.. so does that mean friendship has to be defined in such way then? that it is a form of exchange? and the trade is usually based on personal preference on trivial matters? well the trivial matter can then be defined as good or evil..

for the case of good it would be harmless such as accompaniment; though for the case of evil it varies.. but the key of something that serves evil purposes would be that it has the potential to hurt others or performs wrongful acts..

now i ask myself, what kind of friends would i consider as friends? the kind that lasts long or the kind whos truthful to me? there would have to be a definition for long lasting friends and the level of truthfulness, which im not even sure about yet since i have only experienced eighteen years of my life and only encountered people from three areas on this globe.. but i do want to say though, that if i can choose and if i can differentiate, then i wouldnt want to choose a friend who uses me as a tool or expects something in return that serves evil purposes every time they help me out..

it is hard though, to identify such people, especially for me, because i treat them equally as others and their personal preferences cannot be revealed if i treat them equally as others.. tough luck i suppose.. it is not up to me to judge people and treat them differently according to any sort of preference because of the fact that i am not god.. if i cant determine how evil/good someone is, i shall give them the same amount of respect i give to others around me.. and that is how i value everyone.. and that is how i value friends..