Just remember the time when you were a kid. You would desperately try to complete your homework so that your mom would allow you to play basketball with your neighbor. At that point of time our friends were basically our playmates. And as we stepped into adolescence our childhood playmates had to make way for our new pals. With them, we would share anything under the sun and the topic of discussion would range from the annoying meal you had in the afternoon to the handsome new guy who had recently taken admission in school.

However the serene land of friendship is often invaded by a green eyed monster and is better known by the name ‘jealousy’. And it affects different individuals in different manner. Some would get jealous about a new career opportunity that has come in way of his class mate, or it could be a more simple matter like winning female attention at a dance party.

Surprisingly, friendship acquires a new dimension when it blossoms between two young people of opposite genders. It is a friendship with a fragrance of mutual liking and admiration and sometimes is a gateway to a romantic relationship. Though there is a thin line of demarcation between friendship and love, we can not deny that the foundation of a romantic relationship is mutual understanding and rapport. It is at this point of time, our soul mates occupy the place of our friends.

A good number of well known novels highlight friends as messenger of god. And any time a friend is unable to do a favor to us we tend to describe them as ‘selfish’. But we have to realize that a friend is a human being and just like other human beings he too has his own limitations.

In the long drawn journey of life we meet new people, befriend them, and with the passage of time, they are left behind and are replaced by new ones. But only a few of them is left with us when we are on the verge of retirement. Our friends become our trusted companions. And it is at this time our friendships are festooned with the most essential component of it. It is faith. A child would trust anyone who comes in his life and his trust is shadowed by doubts as he becomes older but interestingly he regains the same at his old age. As per the psychologists, this happens due to the fact that during old age, just as a person becomes physically dependent upon others, he becomes emotionally dependent too. But, at the same time, it is quite true that a friendship is complete when you become emotionally dependent upon your friend.

We often tend to forget, that just like any relationship, friendship needs to be nurtured with care. When was the last time you entertained your friend with a surprise gift? How often do we send friendship ecards to our pals? It is important to express our friends that we care for them.

To conclude, when any relationship reaches a certain level of understanding, rapport and admiration, we term it as friendship. And it can blossom between a father and son, mother and daughter, grandparents and grandchildren or between two complete strangers. And it is the foundation of all existing relationship on the earth. Our friends make our life beautiful; they make us feel important, help us to understand that we are a part of them and ultimately makes our life fulfilling enough.

Sean Carter writes on holidays, events and celebrations around the world. He also writes on complexitites and simplicities of relationships. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry. He writes for 123greetings.com

Webster’s dictionary defines friendship as a relationship where one knows, likes, admires and trusts another or where one is allied with another in a cause, or where one is a supporter of a group or a movement. I define friendship as a relationship between two people based on mutual respect, affection and admiration.

We can experience true friendship with people we know well and are close to for many years, or with people whose lives cross ours only briefly. True friendship is a way of relating to another human being.

There are times when friendship is not positive, when it is judgmental, shallow and dominating. Many years ago there was a classic movie, “Marty” which illustrates a shallow, judgmental relationship mistaken for true friendship. Marty is a 34 year old lonely bachelor who doesn’t make it with women. He describes himself as short, stocky and ugly, but a nice guy. He happens to meet a lonely, plain, nice woman named Clara at a pub, who is much like him. He experiences a wonderful evening filled with laughter, talking, friendship and a possible budding romance. When Marty returns to his friends, they find fault with her saying to Marty, “What a dog she is. Uglee! You didn’t even get a kiss out of her. Why waste time with a dog like that.” His friends influence him to go out with them instead of calling Clara which he really wants to do. Marty turns his back on Clara and the hope she represents, in order to keep the approval of his friends.

But what kind of friends are they? They are blind to Marty’s feelings. They are concerned only with their own pursuits. These so called friends are judgmental, demanding amd shallow.
There are times when we are confused about friendships. Why do we have this confusions about real friends? Perhaps we experience this confusion because we fear taking risks, facing rejection or being alone. How then do we develop real friendships? How do we make the kind of friend who is a comrade who shares the good and the bad times, to whom we can bare our hearts? What does it take to be a good friend?

To be a good friend, to make real friendships, we need to take specific actions and make them a regular part of our daily lives.
A true friend listens well, attentively and lets the other person know his/her willingness to try and understand him/her. The process of listening requires sensitivity and insight, to see beyond the words spoken and uncover hidden feelings.
Being a true friend requires honesty, which at times, means giving and accepting criticism. However, we must be careful not to criticize harshly or embarrass a friend in public.
Being a true friend requires us to admit to mistakes and say, “I was wrong, forgive me.”
Being a true friend requires us to be there for another sharing not only the happy and successful moments but the moments of pain and tears.
Being a true friend means realizing that there may be times to step back and keep silent — just to be there without intruding.
Ralph Waldo Emersoin offered the best advice about true friendship: “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

Jacob Friedman is the rabbi of the Jewish Community Center in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. He has authored numerous articles, lectured widely, written creative prayer pamphlets, and published sermon pamphlets.

How to have happy friends? This is a very important question. Who likes friends who don’t smile and laugh? Who enjoys meeting friends who look serious? Not any of us.

What about ourselves? Do we make happy friendships? Do we make our friends happy? before thinking about others, wouldn’t it be better if we first analyze our own self? Do we smile often when we are with our friends? Do we laugh at the smallest joke? Or we have a serious expression on our face all the time with our friends? Let us first think about our own behavior and correct whatever we can .

Making happy friendships -

Make yourself look happy with your friends and your friends will reflect. That is the secret of happy friendship. Our emotions are reflected in our body language. The reverse is equally true.
Does this help us? it does. it can change our state of mind by changing our physical state. For example, if you are feeling bored, try to look cheerful and you will start becoming cheerful. It is strange, but it works. If you are feeling sad, try to look happy. You will find the sadness going away. Isn’t it great?

How do we talk with friends -

Happiness also depends on what do we talk with our friends. Are we always talking of our own life or do we also listen to them. Listening is the best way to make friends happy. Listen and do it carefully. No pretensions. Your friends will be happy that someone heard them out without interruption. You will also be making your friendship stronger. Listening is very good. by listening, we make the other person feel important. we also make him/her feel happy and relieved. By talking things out, one feels relieved. Isn’t it?

Give and you shall receive. the third law of Newton. Apply this law in your life and make happy friends. You can make them happy right now by telling them about how much you appreciate their friendship. listening to your friends, keeping happy state of mind in their company and appreciating the friendship will make happy friends. Make your life happier and your relationships stronger with happy friends.

Mohatta writes about different aspect of life. Love, inspiration, pains, humanity, truth etc. He is currently dedicated content writer for http://www.screenenetwork.com network.One of the websites for which he writes text for the eCards, Wallpapers and Screensavers is http://www.inspirationaldesktops.com

Friendship is a gift of God. Some of us are blessed with good friends. But as it happens, these friendships are taken for granted in some cases and not valued. It is similar to a case of two couples. Say one has no child even after many years of marriage and the other has many children, more than they can manage. What do you think? Will the couple with many children value the children as much as the couple which has none? Everything is relative in life. We value what we don’t have and give less valuable to what is freely available with us. Friendship is one such relationship.Why should we value friendships? What qualities does a good friend bring in our relationship that makes the friendship so valuable? Let us examine some of these.

Judgment – a good friend is rarely judgmental. We can be open in our behavior with our good friends because we know that they will not judge us. We can enjoy this freedom only with friends. It is nothing short of a blessing, because with other people our actions and behavior are always calculated and guarded and that takes away lot of pleasure from our life.

Share Sorrow and losses – A friend can be depended upon to share all our problems and sorrows. This sharing may not reduce the impact of loss but helps us to unburden ourselves. This is no small gift of friendship. Once I saw the image of a man left alone in the village after an earthquake. The whole village got killed except this man. With who, will this man share his sorrow? A friend gives us this gift.

Hope – During our times of trouble, only a friend comes forward and gives us encouragement and hope. With that inspiration one begins afresh. At times in life when we feel totally devastated and hopeless, and when our self-esteem reaches a big low, a friend helps us regain confidence in ourselves.

CD Mohatta writes for messages in screen-savers, desktop wallpapers, and egreetings. He writes on living, inspiration, romance, business management, etc. You can download screen-savers or send greetings at these websites with his writings: every day inspirational screensavers, friendship greetings and love ecards.

Friendship is a gift that can be treasured for a lifetime. If you have a friend, you are lucky. You can share your thoughts, desires and even your emotions with your friend. Trust me. There are many who sulk alone. They do not have friends.

As with any other relation, friendship too is vulnerable to conflicts. Conflicts arise due to different reasons. However, friends are known to bury the conflict and remain friends forever. But the best thing is to avoid the conflict at any cost.

Ego is one of the main factors leading to conflicts in friendships. Never let your ego eclipse the friendship. Being humble does not mean that you do not have self-esteem. But too much of self-esteem is called ego, which often hurts others.

Closeness in friendship helps friends to understand each other. Try to be as close possible. In this case, even if you make a mistake, your friend can understand your mental situation without making matters worse. Closeness can also be achieved by keeping in touch with your friend using phone, in case you do not have much time to spare.

Friends respect each other’s point of view. You may have a different point of view. But remember, different points complement each other. You need not see eye to eye everywhere.

Learn to Listen. This will help you to better understand your friend. Furthermore, you can refrain from arguing once you know the reason behind your friend’s acts. Arguments tend to leave a bitter taste in minds of people. For friendships, this may prove fatal.

Some friends tend to moralize their counterparts so that they can relate themselves to their friends. Moralizing, if too much, can have negative effects on friendship. Remember that no two people can have the same personalities.

Friendship is based on the trust that you develop in your friend. A small breach of trust can ruin even the strongest friendship. Never let down the trust that your friend has in you.

Everybody has his or her own weakness. Friends often want to help each other and in doing so, may overemphasize the weakness. It is good to help your friend improve, that is, only when he or she is willing. If you constantly remind him of his or her weakness, your friend may start avoiding you.

Success is meant to be celebrated. Just like the problems that your friend shares with you, success of your friend also needs attention. In case you do not notice the success or if you resent it, your friend may think that you are being proud. Never resent a friend’s success. Celebrate it in whatever way you want.

There are times in friendship when one cannot keep his or her promise. Learn to be flexible. It is not always possible to fulfill promises. Flexibility allows you to accept the behavior of your friend in case he breaks a promise.

Do not expect your friendship to grow overnight. Good friendship takes time. You may know that a river achieves depth only if water has flown over a considerable period. Give your friend the space and time he or she needs.

It is true that even after following the above rules, conflicts may occur. In case a conflict arises, try to talk it over. Talk it over the same day instead of taking more time. A wound hurts more if it is old and takes more time to heal.