Love and Friendship

Throughout our lives we are constantly meeting new people and forming relationships that may or, may not develop into anything more serious than a casual exchange in conversation. Relationships will always vary in the degree of emotional closeness. Some people may have a very strong relationship where opinions and feelings are shared with each other, while others may chose not to share personal experiences instead, opting for easygoing conversations and random topics. In today’s society everyone has a different perspective of what they see. The personal and intimate relationship that is shared between a man and a woman can be seen from many different perspectives.

A relationship is love and appreciation being shared between two people while at the same time they are indulging themselves in each others lives. A relationship is a connection between two individuals whether it is mother and child, male and female, or friend and friend. A relationship can be defined as something sacred, something meant to be shared between two people over a period of time. In the essay “On Friendship” written by Francine Du Plessix Gray she gives her perspective on the relationship between men and women.

“Friendship is by its very nature freer of deceit than any other relationship we can know because it is least affected by striving for power, physical pleasure, or material profit most liberated from any oath of duty or of constancy” this is a quote from Francine Du Plessix Gray. She believed that there wasn’t any such thing as true love that with love you get a false sense of what’s real. Varying opinions and conflicting perspectives can quickly lead to disagreements and animosity between people. However relationships formed with others all have positive and negative aspects to them. Unfortunately when people consider starting a new relationship with one another each individual takes into account what that person has to offer, today people focus more on what a person can get out of that relationship rather than what they can put into it.

Relationships only remain relationships as long as each individual is getting what they want out of that relationship. As long that balance remains that everybody get what he or she wants out of the relationship it can remain fulfilling. One would hope that new outlooks and ways of evaluating friendships or relationships may take its course, an outlook that involved looking past what you can extract from that relationship and more of what you can put into the relationship; if one person could put an end to picking their relationships based on secondary reasons new and truly lasting relationships can be formed. When we are finally able to put an end to looking at bettering ourselves at the expense of others and make relationships truthful and honest than this may lead to a new outlook and appreciation of others.

Relationships do not necessarily mean that a personal bond must be kept infinitely. A close relationship may decline because people may grow apart or the interests of people change. Therefore our relationships will always be alternating and growing. We will experience new acquaintances, selected friends, significant others and perhaps intimate relationships. Although this may seem dismal in the sense that true friendships or true love, which are cherished and appreciated, may in fact truly be a figment of our imagination. As Joseph Addison once said “The greatest sweetener of human life is Friendship. To raise this to the highest pitch of enjoyment, is a secret which but few discover.” In life we all try to form relationships with others whether it’s to have a real friendship or if it’s to find what we think will be true love. If one is lucky enough in their lifetime to find a friend who is truthful, honest, and sincere a causal encounter may turn into a lifelong friendship or relationship.