A true friend...

... stabs you in the front.


I've been thinking. It's a dangerous business - to be avoided at all costs. But then again, when have I ever done anything that is wholesome (as in pertaining to mental health)?

To be rebuffed by a friend, with or without ill intent, is bothersome, to say the least. Yet should you admire the friend who rebuffs you to your face? Who points out your flaws?

There is a type of friend, of acquaintance who could be considered a fair-weather friend. A friend who will share laughs with you - but only when it is convenient to them. A friend who will giggle with you when the conversation suits them. A friend that will be kind and sweet - until they find it to not be worthwhile.

And as soon as you are unsuitable for this friend's purpose's, all the pre-existing warmth disappears quicker than the ill-fated snowman you created in the early days of March.

Should this friend be berated for the fact that they are selfish? That they are self-centered? Is that such a horrid quality to have? (For if one does not think of themselves, who shall?) Or should this friend be admired for their "realness".

If a false friend stabs you in the back, does a true friend stab you in the front? Or does a true friend refrain from stabbing you?




Yes.


It is not love, it is not friendship to only think of complacency and peace - such actions build resentment. Such actions are not friendship. But a true friend refrains from stabbing, too.

Refrain. Intransitive verb. To hold oneself back.
Stab. Transitive verb. To pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.

A true friend does not seek to pierce you, but if they must, they will pierce you in the front. And although it might hurt more to be pierced in the heart, at least you'll have seen it coming. And then you have all the time you need for self-flagellation!