Wednesday, October 8, 2014

How many Best Friends is too many?

Three things go without saying but I'll go ahead and say them:
1. Posts on this blog are inspired by my everyday life. It may be an experience, conversation, something I overheard, saw, or read.
2. All opinions or statements on this blog are my own. You obviously don’t have to agree with them and it’s OK if you don’t.
3. The content of this blog will be a mumble jumble of everything. Life: marriage, kids, fitness, recipes, funny, serious, sad, you name it. That's what life is...a mumble jumble! 

With that being said, on with the post: 
I saw this quote the other day.

“To be a friend to many people in the way of the perfect friendship
is not possible,”
 wrote the great Greek philosopher, Aristotle.

Do you agree?
There are many people on my Facebook that seem to throw around that "best friend" title REAL loosely. Every time they post a picture with a different person and caption it with “blah blah blah with my BEST FRIEND!” I think to myself, “how many best friends do you have?! That must be exhausting!” 

Now I know everyone is different and hey, it's a free country (kind of) so go ahead and have as many best friends as you want. But think about the quality of those friendships over quantity. (That applies with so many things in life.)

Having too many best friends isn't possible. How can you possibly be a "true" best friend to so many people?  The more people, the less room; everyone gets a little piece instead of big slices. The more the merrier does not apply. Am I right or nah?

Maybe you have different kinds of friends and you are mistakenly calling them your "best friend".

You have a shopping buddy, work out buddy, drinking buddy. But those are buddies…people who simply enjoy spending their time doing the same things. IE, Book clubs, mom play dates. If you didn't have the same hobby or interest, you probably wouldn't even talk.

Then you have your work or school friends who are simply coworkers and classmates. You’re kind of forced to get along because life would be miserable if you didn't. It may not feel forced, but in a way, it is. When that class ends or you get a new job, how long until your "friendship" slips away?

Those aren't best friends…


A best friend to me is a person who you have a LIFELONG relationship with. You value each other’s opinion and each other’s beliefs. You may not work together, go to school together, party together, or even have the same hobbies, but somehow, have stayed the best of friends. You talk or text every day, and a couple days without talking feels like a lifetime! You know, NO MATTER WHAT, they'll always be there for you. You don't fight and if you do it doesn't last more than a couple hours. That's a best friend. 
If you don't' already have that best friend, I'm afraid it may be too late. (I kid...) But, as we grow older, I believe the ability to form such a bond becomes way more difficult. You don't have the patience, time, or energy to plant those "best friend" seeds and that strong root system isn't formed. I'm not saying your best friend is necessarily the person you've known the longest. Its the person who you've planted those seeds and they have never been torn up. 

All in all, I believe there are best friends, friends, and acquaintances, and some people may move up between friends and acquaintances. A best friend shouldn't be one to move.

Point of this post? #NoNewFriends! Totally kidding...
I believe you can have many best friends, and having best friends makes you wealthy in life! The "how many is too many" question can't really be answered. It's different for everyone, but everyone has their limit. 

Questions to ponder:
How many best friends do you have?
Are you your best friend's best friend?
What do you think a best friend is?
How many is too many?

XOXO 

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