“It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend of his faults…To speak painful truth through loving words… that is friendship.”     – Henry Ward Beecher, clergyman
   
If there were a system for categorizing friends, you could say they add, subtract, multiply or divide your life somehow.  With a little analysis, you can easily file them as such.  Mind you, doing so is neither to praise nor condemn any as “good” or “evil”.  Instead it prompts you to evaluate each person’s impact and influence in your daily life. Who multiplies your joy?  Adds to your problems?  Divides your burdens?  Subtracts from your own identity?  Those who do not increase the positives within and around you will inevitably decrease the value of your experiences with negative drain.  So, do the math.  You’ve chosen your pals…now decide what you want to absorb and be surrounded by.  Speak up about what lifts you up and drags you down and create a formula for the strong friendship you both deserve.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
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