Friendship is the cooperative and supportive relationship between people. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, affection, and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism. Their tastes will usually be similar and may converge, and they will share enjoyable activities. They will also engage in mutually helping behavior, such as the exchange of advice and the sharing of hardship. A friend is someone who may often demonstrate reciprocating and reflective behaviors. Yet for some, the practical execution of friendship is little more than the trust that someone will not harm them.

How to Nurture a Friendship


A friend is someone who cherishes the special moments and memories of
life with another person. A friend is a trustworthy companion.

Friendship is a relationship which takes time to build. There are many
steps and stages to achieving a true friendship. However, one can think
building a friendship is like planting a garden.

For many people, planting a garden represents, devotion and
leisure. It takes patience to grow a garden, frustrations and
hardships are also involved in the process. Firstly the seed is
planted. The seed builds the foundation of a strong and stable
plant. It has to be taken care of and watered daily. Then the
shoots start sprouting, the plant is finally flourishing. One
can see day by day the garden maturing. Then one day the garden
starts to wilt, its dying. One has to tend to it and have the
patience and determination to bring it back to life. It
frustrates one to see the insects and predators preying on the
beautiful garden that once existed. But hard work and devotion
regains the gardens beauty and gives it life again. Soon a
shoots blossom an bloom into beautiful flowers. The charm and
divine beauty of the garden is a wonderful enlightening sight.

Building a friendship has similar characteristics. One meets a
person and plants the seed of friendship. The friendship builds
and continues to grow stronger. It requires devotion of time
and patience to achieve peak communication between the two
companions. The struggle to keep a solid friendship includes
many obstacles and hardships. But compromising, devotion and
the willingness to endure is bound to payoff in the end. As
Bernard Wolf quotes ^It takes a long time to grow an old
friendship^. Friendship has its good and bad times. There comes
a time when the relationship is just not working. It is
preoccupied with disagreements and quarrels. It is on the verge
of destruction. One must have the patience to deal with such
frustrations. The willingness and determination to get the
relationship working again come within. Compromising and
persistence rebuilds the friendship and is once again
reestablished. As Socrates once said ^Be slow to fall into
friendship, but when thou art ! in, continue firm and
constant^. The friendship is blooming and is finally on its peak. Its
great to have a strong and stable relationship which allows the two
companions to share the joys and memories of life together.

If building a friendship can be compared to planting a garden
then perhaps some of its frustrations and problems can be
better understood. The true meaning of friendship is achieved
by understanding its relativity to planting a garden. A person
who builds a friendship as planting a garden can overcome the
obstacles of it very easily. The symbolism becomes clear and
precise. Friendship and planting a garden can both be said as
^give and take^. The more effort and persistence put into them
the more stronger and everlasting happiness can be accomplished.

"How to Nurture a Friendship." 123HelpMe.com. 23 Jun 2009
    <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=39786>.