On Friendship

            There are a lot of articles about friendship. Different approaches by different authors. Friendship, as we know, is the close relationship of the people who have hurdled the good and the bad times together. It is knowing a person not by name but by attitude; the way they act, what they like, what they eat, drink, watch, do, everything! It is a process which develops through time. However, the length of time you've known the person is not the major factor in building a quality friendship. It's about feeling o.k. when you"re with that person. At ease with her and the feeling is mutual. Friendship is being open to one another. It's not hiding anything from a person. It's about being yourself and you"re comfortable about it. You"re not ashamed of admitting that you once worked in a fast-food chain or you have this horrible habit of picking your teeth in public. You"re confident that your friend won't change her views about you. Friendship is acceptance! You have accepted him for what he/she is with their good traits and the not-so-good ones and your friend the same. Friendship is about mutuality, equity!.
             Most of us know friendship; most of us have experienced it. But what is it really aside from the basic facts we know? Montaigne tells us that it is the "general and universal warmth, moderate and even," in contrast to love and marriage (On Friendship par.5). Francine du Plessix Gray interprets Montaigne's words as the " advantages of friendship over any kind of romantic or physical attachment" (On Friendship par.5). There are a lot of reasons why friendship is betterr than any form of relationship. Personally, I would say it is the best! It is an act of selflessness and openness that dominates other ties.
             Friendship is an involvement of at least two beings. It won't exist if you"re alone without company. As Francis Bacon wrote in one of his essays, "those who have no friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their own hearts.