Friendship

Look to your left and right an what do you see? How many people are you willing to put your life in the hands of? These questions inevitably arise in the life of everyone. Probably more than once. When someone thinks of their friends, and in this sense I mean family, spouses, etc., I would argue there are three categories. These are the inner circle, the outer circle, and acquaintances. I think that the size of a persons circles is proportional to the ability to trust the individuals within it. Therefore the inner circle is probably three individuals at most. These are the three people in the world that you would trust to drop whatever they are doing and come to your side. Regardless of their opinion of the relative worth of your problem as related to their own situation. Then you have your outer circle, This is the group of friends that you would ask for help and would probably get it, but if you dig down deep inside, I mean way deep, would you unconditionally trust them with everything? Finally there are your acquaintances. These people know you and might help you with small things but your relative importance is only in the context of your relationship. The test of a true friendship is your bond after leaving the context of your relationship.
In addition to these thoughts, I was thinking about the core of what a friendship is. If have broken this down to two elements. First, a friend is a social companion with whom you enjoy spending time with. The second element is the proverbial shoulder to lean on. You friendship should be a safety net for the problems you might encounter. The old adage that there is safety in numbers applies. Well, it is something to think about. Look deep inside and see if you can identify your inner circle.