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KNOWING WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE: A PERSONAL ESSAY
_POSTEDON 2002-05-23 20:14:06 by jimmyd |
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 jimmyd _writes "Change is good. Without change, we wouldn't have a way to reference our lives. Change gives us opportunities to take stock of where we are, who we are, and what we are. Change lets us evaluate the quality of our lives. Regardless of whether the change might seem a negative thing or a positive thing, it usually gives us plenty of raw data in which we, hopefully, make other changes that takes a negative and transforms it to a positive, or takes a positive and makes it even more positive.
Another thing change does is let us know who our friends are. One of the most basic concepts of friendship is that friends care. In fact, when change takes place, friends care enough to go out of their way to let you know they care. Friends cannot always do anything about the change that's taken place, but friends will come forward, usually inquiring about the change, how the change took place, what the change truly means, where the change might take us, and then possibly offer help, even when none might be needed, or none can do any good. I guess what I mean here is that friends don't just care, friends let you know that they care.
Through change, we also sometimes find out which people are not our friends, that is, who should simply be placed back in that column of "People I Know," or "People I Sometimes Work With," or "People I Sometimes Play With." Sometimes finding out who these people are is one of the most helpful things to come out of change. Even though it might be painful to realize who are not your friends, it certainly allows us to construct future plans that include the right people, e.g. our friends, and exclude the right people, e.g. those we find out are not really our friends. Although we might still choose to work with, or play with, or associate with some of the people we find out are not truly our friends, it will never be the same as when they were listed in the 'Friends' column. Fortunately, those realationships now remain in proper perspective.
Sometimes the best part of change is to find out who our enemies are. It's one thing for a person to be struck from the 'Friends' list and be put on the 'Acquaintances' list, but it is really helpful when someone can be stricken from the 'Friends' list and accurately put on the 'Enemies' list. Knowing who your enemies are can be a truly life-defining and liberating moment. Look at all the problems the Bush administration has had with this 'War on Terrorism,' and defining to the American public just who our enemies are. How much simpler it was when they could just point to a Hitler, or a Mussollini, or a Tojo, and say, "There is the enemy. He and everyone like him!" When you can do that in your personal life, and/or your business life, it makes life and its many decisions easier as well.
Well, I'm just rambling. It's my site, so I can do that if I want. Cya.
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