It occurs to me to talk about friendship since we are in an environment where we know many people. Some know each other from before entering this site and others know each other from here but have already formed strong bonds. Others are very friendly and become friends with everyone. Some of us even like to use the word friend, and it's not wrong to do so, it's just that there are many types of friends.
In psychology you can find definitions for the word friend, but I’m not going to write a concept of this word.
But a memory of Aristotle came to my mind, he stated and classified friendship in three ways. All three are good ways to be friends. But it’s good that we know how to differentiate each type because this brings us peace of mind and so we can know what to face when we are in search of a friend, at least according to Aristotle's classification.
As far as I remember he first defined a type of friendship, which is for some personal interest. People are clear or should be clear, we are friends because I am interested in something about you. I want to get a benefit from being with you, I want a job and with you I will get it, I want to pass an exam and you will help me, I want to meet someone important and through your interception I will succeed and so on.
This is what we call an interested friend. We all notice when we have an interested friend. He always compliments us. He always makes us stand out so that we feel important and only then will he succeed in achieving his goal.
A second type of friendship is one where they like to be with you, they share many things, they like you as you are with your personality. They can usually be very close to keep each other company and enjoy pleasant moments. We go to parties, get-togethers, have fun, recreate or even have personal relationships of the intimate type without going beyond an occasional affair.
And then, one of us may think he or she is a real friend but also one of us is clear on what he or she wants… Just to hang out. As soon as difficulties arise they withdraw, they’re not that kind of friend to stick with you through thick and thin. They withdraw until things get better for you, after all I they’re only with you because you’re both having a great time but your personal or legal problem situation is yours alone, so solve it.
Then you meet again because you have a great time having fun. This is an occasional friend, only on the occasion of enjoyment, nothing more.
And then there’s the third type of friend. This one is unconditional. He is your friend for whatever happens. It’s the one who over time has strengthened ties because he found in you the right characteristics to maintain a lasting and sincere friendly relationship.
It’s that friendship that we all wish to have, unconditional friends for our whole life, and it’s a thing that both parties feel. I am your friend for anything, I look for you when I’m going through sad times and I need a shoulder to cry on and you offer it to me. I need you because I'm sick and I need someone to help me. There they are, no matter what ails us they stay with you and give you support.
That friendship that takes years, that distance cannot separate because they have no walls. I’ll travel to be with you if you need me. I’ll leave what I'm doing because your situation is more important, I’ll celebrate with you your triumphs without envy because your triumph is mine.
This is the hardest kind of friends to find, but I assure you from my own experience that you can find them, and when you do, it is for life.
I once read that if we have even one friend with these characteristics that I just mentioned then we are the luckiest people in the world and much luckier when you can have more than one friend.
I have always considered myself a very fortunate woman because I can even count on true friendship. It’s a gift of life to be able to count on a sincere friend.
Can you tell me about your experience with a true friend? Or with a friend of the first or second types?
Hello. having a true friend, the kind that you have in good and bad times is like having another member of the family. I am privileged to have a great friend, a gift of life. Although she has been living in another country for the last few years, we communicate daily. Thanks for your article, interesting classification of friendship according to Aristotle. Greetings.