The first step in the art of friendship is to be a friend; then making friends takes care of itself.
To be a friend a man should start by being a friend to himself, by being true to his highest & best & by aligning himself with enduring values of human life that make for growth & progress. To be a friend a man should strive to be "like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land," to be a source of refuge & strength to those who walk in darkness. To be a friend a man should believe in the inherent goodness of men & in their potential greatness; he should treat men in a big spirit, expectant of a nobel response. To be a friend a man should strive to lift people up, not cast them down, to encourage, not discourage; to set an example that will be an inspiration to others. To be a friend a man should be sensitively responsive to the dreams & aims of others & should show sincere appreciation for the contributions others make to the enrichment of his life. To be a friend a man should practice the companionship of silence & the magic of words that his speech may build & not destroy, help & not hinder. |
To be a friend a man should close his eyes to the faults of others & open them to his own.
To be a friend a man should not attempt to reform or reprimand, but should arrive only to make others happy if he can. To be a friend a man should be himself, he should be done with hypocrisy, artificiality & pretense; he should meet & mingle with people in quiet simplicity & humility. To be a friend a man should be tolerant, he should have an understanding heart & forgiving nature, knowing that all men stumble now & then, & that he who never made a mistake never accomplished anything. To be a friend a man should join hands with all people who are working for great principles, great purposes & great causes; he should put his shoulder to the wheel to help achieve common goals. To be a friend a man should go more than halfway in his contacts with his fellow men; he should greet others first and not wait to be greeted; he should radiate a spirit of over flowing good will. To be a friend a man should remember that we are human magnets; that like attracts like, & that what we give we get. To be a friend a man should recognize that the art of friendship is lifetime study, that no man knows all the answers & that he should add each day to his knowledge of how to live the friendly way. |