The defining of friendship.

I’ve been asked, ‘How do we know whether we are friends?’ Depends. On how we define the term. If it’s a rather loose and flexible definition, we’re friends. If it’s a more stringent application, we're more likely to be acquaintances. Therefore, our status with each other could change from day to day. I used to hold to the notion that maybe one has only one or two true friends in a lifetime. And maybe some of us go through life without a real friend. That’s if we define friendship as something unconditional. Similar to unconditional love. In other words, if a ‘friend’ even betrayed me, he/she would remain a friend. If that’s not true, then we are merely acquaintances. Anyway, I’m assuming that I have a nice handful of friends. People that I would stick by. And I think, that for the most part, they’d stick by me. Friendships are built. Generally over a long period of time. Often, over a lifetime. Overnight friendships are rare, if ever. Albeit, I’ve had an innate sense of trust from the very beginning with several friends. An instant connection. A feeling that this was evolving into a true friendship. –Jim Broede