Qualities of a good friend
Good friends are rare in this world. We have several acquaintances but a few friends. This is so because real friendship is a complex thing made up of several things. It is rarely that we get such a combination of things in human beings.
What then are the qualities of a good friend? Firstly a friend should be a genuine lover of our self. That is to say a good friend should love us for our own sake. There are many who love for our money or our position in life. A disinterested friend is rare. And only friends who love us for ourselves can be good to us.
But it is not enough to love. Love is blind. For example, many parents spoil their children by blindly loving them. So also a friend who loves us may spoil us. Therefore secondly a friend must be wise. He or she must be sensible, rational and experienced. He must be wiser then ourselves. Otherwise, what is the good of a friend, however loving if he happens to be dull, stupid and unreasonable?
Thirdly, a good friend must be firm and fearless. That is to say, if we are in the wrong, if we are foolish, they must frankly tell us what we are. A good friend is not afraid of displeasing us when we go wrong. Flattery is not a part of a good friendship. False friends flatter us while true friends heal us and cure us of our follies. Curing is often unpleasant. Some medicines are bitter. But like a good doctor, a good friend is not afraid of giving active advice which may seem to be unpalatable. A good friend will risk displeasure in giving timely reminders and sound advice in our follies. It is often found that sweet friends prove bitter in the end, and bitter friends prove sound at the end.
Fourthly, a good friend should be a friend in need and deed. That is to say when we are in need of assistance, a good friend should come forward to help us concretely. There are many friends who talk and give advice which costs nothing, but when we ask for concrete help they avoid us. This is the test of friendship. We must get substantial service from our friends.
By Rehana khan(111/10)
