I recently finished True Friendship: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness by John Cuddeback. It is a quick read that breaks down the basics of friendship- Cuddeback also dives into why virtuous friendships are what we should be striving after.
This post isn’t meant to be a book review but only some dialogue about friendship that I have been having with myself (I won’t tell you if I actually talk with myself 😉 ) and others-although I would recommend Cuddeback’s book!
Often times I feel some pressure to keep up with everyone and I have noticed how loosely I use the word “friend.”
Using the word “acquaintance” makes me cringe as if I haven’t done enough to secure a “friendship.” Friendship takes two, especially friendships that you have had for awhile. This is such a simple concept but I believe it is something I have lost along the way. It is not only one sided where you must do all of the reaching out, all of the planning, etc.
We need friendships outside of our family. I’m going to make you gag a bit and whole heartedly tell you that my husband is my very best friend. puke. It’s true, so very true….but I still need to have friends outside of my marriage.
Cuddeback argues that true friendship lies within virtue- a virtuous friendship is the most fulfilling. When two people are pushing eachother to the true, good, and beautiful- to Heaven.
To add to my ramblings- I am deleting my Facebook account this week and I am very interested to see who I stay in contact with through text/phone call once this is gone. Facebook is great for staying connected with little effort. Maybe it will help me see acquaintance vs. friend more clearly with who I make an effort to catch up with and vice versa.
Do you have any thoughts on friendship that you would like to add? What do you think about the above possible snooze fest? 🙂 Happy Tuesday!
p.s. Be sure to read Greg’s comment on this post…it’s some goooooood stuff! Thanks for the input!
A Shower of Roses 
All true, all true. I also think that we have to realize that some friendships in our lives are not designed to be long-term, but rather short-term due to changing family circumstances, career moves, and physical moves to other cities. That’s where discernment comes in every 3-4 months to ask, “Who are my 4-5 key virtuous friendships? Who are 4 people I believe the Lord has placed in my Lord right now to have friendship with?” And, that’s all okay. It doesn’t mean they are loved less, but rather that they may have a different role in your life for now, and that may mean you won’t be communicating with them as much. Look at our Lord– he didn’t have the same kind of friendship with everyone, and he was God!
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I think it’s pretty awesome you deleted your facebook. I bet I would have a lot more time to catch up with friends if I stopped wasting my time away scrolling through social media!
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Two days down and I am loving it so far. Ask me in a couple of months how I am feeling ha 🙂 It is such a great resource to catch up with people but I was wasting too much time!!
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