As a life-long student of human nature, I collect aphorisms. The best one on friendship I have encountered is. “a friend puts their own interests aside, and puts yours first; all others are acquaintances”. That one came from an orphan, schooled in the ways of the world, with no family to help them or take for granted and fight with. “If you want a friend, be a friend” speaks to the reciprocity that we all thrive on, except those who don’t. “You only get what you give”, otherwise known as karma, suggests that your bullying acquaintance will similarly be schooled, in the fullness of time, on the gridiron of life. “When you scratch the surface of life, right underneath you will find envy.” “Your worst lessons are your best lessons”, or perhaps “what doesn’t kill you makes for a great story afterwards” . “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That humans pretend toward nobility is belied by the bad name nobility has earned in this world. “Trial and error” suggests that we don’t learn from our successes, only from our failures. Try picking your own stocks for your retirement savings, and you will soon learn that truth of the ages!
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As a life-long student of human nature, I collect aphorisms. The best one on friendship I have encountered is. “a friend puts their own interests aside, and puts yours first; all others are acquaintances”. That one came from an orphan, schooled in the ways of the world, with no family to help them or take for granted and fight with. “If you want a friend, be a friend” speaks to the reciprocity that we all thrive on, except those who don’t. “You only get what you give”, otherwise known as karma, suggests that your bullying acquaintance will similarly be schooled, in the fullness of time, on the gridiron of life. “When you scratch the surface of life, right underneath you will find envy.” “Your worst lessons are your best lessons”, or perhaps “what doesn’t kill you makes for a great story afterwards” . “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That humans pretend toward nobility is belied by the bad name nobility has earned in this world. “Trial and error” suggests that we don’t learn from our successes, only from our failures. Try picking your own stocks for your retirement savings, and you will soon learn that truth of the ages!
Post: What Friends Do
Link to comment from July 4, 2024