Friendship… just some musings…

What follows is nothing more than some musings on the nature of different types of friendships. Please do not think this is anything more than just me sorting out some thoughts and putting them “on paper” as it were. So forewarned, read on…

Friendship is an important part of life, but are all friendships equal? I don’t think so, I think they are all as valid and important but they are not all the same. Which is perhaps odd to think about but consider that even within a short space of time friendships can change and even end. I think its this idea alone that has led me this thinking.

To me there are 5 main types:
- passing
These are not just the people we nod to in the street, they are what some call “acquaintances”. When we met we typically make small talk and are happy enough to spend time with but typically won’t establish such times
- work
It is what it is, people we get on with but only see at work or related times, I think many Internet friendships are in this category, however with the increase of online communities such as twitter etc many are becoming closer friends who we may never meet. These are not just passing friendships as we see them daily and do, to some extent at least, care about them.
- friend…
A step closer than passing, we typically will make an effort to spend time with them. We phone them up for a trip to the cinema but not usually when we need someone to talk to. I think that a lot of those we call friends are in this category.
- close (best)
These are few and far between, those who we truly call friend, a friendship where we can be ourselves and can rely on the other. These are special and I can count on on hand the number I’ve been lucky to have.
- romantic
Surely those we love romantically must also be our friends, to be honest or romantic friend should also be one of our closest friends.

Of course friendships change, grow, and develop, switching between types and sometimes ending either by a specific event or time. It seems to be a natural part of life that things change, even friendships. This is not a bad thing, but its by no means easy. The closer the friendship the more it hurts and the longer it takes and the more we regret its passing. However as hard as it is we should learn from the mistakes and grow from it.

It also goes without saying that these are not black and white definitions but rather each fade into the others by shades of grey. Its difficult to succinctly define something as dynamic and organic as friendships.

So what does this mean… Well really it means very little I suppose as this was mainly an intellectual exercise to stretch the grey matter a bit. That being said I think its helpful to look at our friendships if only to realise how fortunate we are to have any as there those who have none.

Thoughts and opinions, as always, welcome.