The Friendship Café

“People report being happier when they are with friends than when they’re with a spouse or child,” according to research cited in a recent cover story in Psychology Today magazine. This, indeed, is something to ponder seriously.

To repeat, people actually experience greater joy while spending time with their friends than while spending time with their children or their mates. This should give you an idea of the value of friendship.

Unfortunately, friendship - like life in general - is not easily understood. But there is magic to it, which makes it so worthwhile.

Interestingly, friendship is one of the most researched subjects on the Internet. This indicates that millions of people are interested in creating new friendships and enhancing old ones. Given how important friendship is in our lives, have you ever noticed how little has been written on the subject? Compare, for example, the number of books written on how to handle money to the number of books on how to create and maintain great friends.

Perhaps money buys a certain amount of happiness; It's just that friendship
buys more. Indeed, in many ways friendship is much more valuable to us than money. Our human interactions, particularly those with close friends, provide most of the joys or disappointments we have in life. It follows that you can’t experience real success in life unless you have real friends.

Taking into account that passing time with friends provides us with so much joy and happiness, the question you have to ask yourself is, “Do I have enough close friends?” According to a study reported in the June 2006 issue of American Sociological Review, American adults, who shocked pollsters in 1985 when they said they had only three close friends, said they had just two in 2006.

Moreover, the number who said that they have no one to discuss important matters with has doubled to one in four. The study found that men and women of every race, age, and education level reported fewer intimate friends than a similar survey indicated in 1985.

Unfortunately, the modern work world makes our individual lives busier and more fragmented. Thus, many people neglect to devote time to making close friends. “Friendship seems to be the last thing that anyone’s getting to,” says Jan Yager, an American sociologist and author of several books on friendship.

Yager adds, “Friendship is not something that you get to when everything else in your life is taken care of. It’s an important relationship even after the school years for emotional health, for career advancement, for physical well-being.”

To be sure, great friendships are important for creating a new sense of community that translates into social, emotional, and physical well-being. Several research studies conclude that people who have intimate relationships with others live happier, healthier, and longer.

Friendship should be a universal and all-encompassing topic for each and every one of us. Companionship is essential to a full and rich life. It ranks right up there with fulfilling work and good health. Many individuals have discovered that a good friend is much cheaper than therapy - and ten times as helpful!

People in our society likely do not speak often about their yearning for friendship, as important as it is, because they do not want to appear needy and desperate. Not many people care to admit how lonely they are or can be at times in their lives. Surveys reveal that loneliness is one of the biggest problems humans face. To many people, it is the biggest.

Of this you should be certain: Life can be a really lonely experience without great friends. Above all, great friends can provide you with things that you can’t. The reverse is also true. Plautus, the Roman playwright whose works influenced Shakespeare and Molière, proclaimed, “Your wealth is where your friends are.”

Put another way, the more people who truly care whether you get up in the morning, the richer you will feel. You will find this to be true whether you are wealthy or broke. Taking into account the importance of friendship in our lives,
the richest person in this world is the one with the most real friends - and not the one with the most money.

Following is a recent list of people's Top-10 goals related to friendship and social life tagged on 43Things.com:

According to a Hindu proverb, "True happiness consists in making others happy." As far as possible without surrender, be a kind, gentle, generous, and loving person. Share whatever happiness you experience with others. In this way you will multiply the friendship - and happiness - that comes into your life.
Be known to your friends as someone with a cool demeanor, warm heart, and great character. Your presence on this earth will long be remembered.
When the Thrill Is Gone: When things go wrong in the friendship game, be your own best. Don't take it personally. Remember that if a person has done you a terrible wrong, he will do it to others. You have every reason to feel good about yourself if you have been honest, kind, and loving. Also remember that people are not against you. They are for themselves.

The following topics relating to friends and friendship will be covered on this website through articles, quotes, and poems.

Should You Care about What Others Think about Your Friends?
Some of Life's Secrets for Enduring Friendships
Top-10 Dumbest Things You Can Do with Friends to Ensure That You Lose Them
Barriers to Friendship
Children and Their Friends
Cynical Comments about Friendship
Should You Expect Favors from a Best Friend
Where to Find New Friends
When and How to Forgive Best Friends
How to Grow a Best Friend
Hanging on to Your Best Friends
Insincere Friends
Importance of Best Friends and Friendship
Kinds and Types of Best Friends to Have
How to Make Friendships Last
How to Handle the Loss of Best Friends
Love versus Friendship
Male and Female Friendships
Marriage and Friends
Meaning of Friendship
Motives for Friendship
One's Character in Relation to One's Choice of Best Friends
Paradox of Friendship
Are There Perfect Best Friends?
Why Only Fools Consider Popularity When Choosing Friends
Possessions and Friends
What Is the Price of Friendship - Can Friends Be Bought?
What Is the Ultimate Purpose of Friendship?
Relatives Versus Friends
Sharing Secrets with Best Friends
Spending Time with Best Friends
Success and Friendship
Taking Advantage of Your Best Friends
Value of Best Friends
Work and Friends

The Friendship Café

Where Best Friends Learn How to Become Great Friends

A Best Friend Is Much Cheaper than Therapy - and Ten Times As Helpful!