Friendship is a kind of relationship that many accompany you all your life. The relationship with your wife or husband occurs only after you are married and runs the risks of being cut down by divorce. The relationship with your parents will be put to an end with their passing away. The relationship with your children begins late in the middle of your life. You have an association with your colleagues, but it is always changing, because one day, one or another colleague may disappear suddenly out of your routine by changing jobs and you may similarly jump out of your colleagues' lives. You have connection with your neighbors only for the sake of living in the same neighborhood and it will break down when you or one of your neighbors moves. Only friendship can be everlasting an steady. You may have friends as early as infancy. No matter whether you are married or not, no matter where you live and work, your friends are your friends. It is not based on bloodline. It is not absolutely an objective social relationship which befalls you. It is rooted in the desires and feelings derived from social experiences. It relies on your intention. In my opinion, that is the social nature of friendship. Making friends is to meet people's varying needs. People have all kinds of desires. To achieve progress, you make friends with those who surpass you. To enjoy freedom, equality an mutual respect, you make friends with those who are of equal stature with you. On behalf of your vanity and relaxation you make friends with the inferior. To you, some friends are fun-loving, some give encouragement, some offer knowledge, and others help you to find your own identity. You expose your worries and weakness to some friends, while you show only your merits, your bright side, in the face of other friends. Before your friends, you may act as a supervisor, a learned brother, a lovely child, a gentleman or a playmate. In a word, friendship helps you to be a full person. So friendship can benefit every individual and thus complete society which is composed of numerous individuals. That is the very social function of friendship.
I hold the point of view that friendship also has its historic nature and functions. Friendship is created since it is needed and lasts until it fulfills its tasks. If you are obsessed by a problem, a certain friend may come into your help until the problem is solved and then will be somewhat estranged from you. Friendship is produced because you want a helper and he is willing to be a helper. Friendship is estranged because it has served both of your purposes. The fact that a friend can become an enemy is demonstrated by the historic nature of friendship. So when a friend drifts apart from you, don't be sad. What you should do is to cherish the friendship that once existed between you and your friend, and be grateful to him.
Life is a bouquet, friendship is flower.
