Friends of Convenience

Ever had one of those friends who are normal with you as long as you agree with them? The moment you say something against what they are doing, or offer a piece of advice or share your concerns, it all goes downhill. Now why is that anyway? What is friendship?

Is friendship seeing your friend row away in a broken boat? Or is it pushing them off a cliff when they are already on the edge? I would think friendship is quite the opposite of all this. It's protecting your friends from heartache, fussing over them when they are down, making sure they don't repeat their mistakes.

So what do you do when you are friends with someone who does not welcome your advice? I mean, what kind of friendship is that? There is no freedom of speech, which is ironic, because friends are who you vent and babble to. Friends are who you can mention any concern to and they would still be there. Do you have to agree all the time? Nope! But should you only say what they want to hear, all the time? I don't think so!

But, apparently people believe that that should be the case. You should keep your mouth shut about the mistakes they are about to make. Oh but you are not allowed to repeat your mistakes. But they are special since they aren't like the rest of us. They can handle the heartache and the consequences. Isn't that denial? Refusing to accept the reality? Getting angry when someone points it out because you know they are right. Truth's dagger hurts and that is why they become mad. But, who should explain this to them? Because if you try to you will be told that you don't get it.

So, you let them drive away in a car with faulty brakes. You let them jump off the bridge and drown, and you keep your mouth shut tight. Although, if you do that, are you really friends with that person? They are on a suicide mission and you refuse to stop them. I guess sometimes you have to let a person take the fall for them to realize that they were wrong. Isn't that what 'tough love' is?