Many of us go through life making what we call "friends." Some of us go through life and find a partner.
Although some use the two terms interchangeably, there is a subtle but significant difference between relationship and friendship
What is a friend
A friend can be someone you talk to and have experience with. Basically, friendship is defined by a series of shared experiences that occur infrequently, occasionally, or frequently.
You may or may not know your friends very well. Some are close friends, while others are a bit more formal.
A friend can be someone you trust when you need it or someone who leans on you. Maybe we can count on a friend, or maybe a friend is someone who has never been there.
A friend can be someone who is often present in your life or who is often absent. A friend is anyone you allow to be a friend.
However, it is completely different from the companionship.
What Is a Companion or Relationship?
We all go consciously or unconsciously in the course of life. Every decision we make in life takes us in a certain direction. There are people who, at least in our life, follow the same path as us.
People who are on the same journey as us can become friends.
These people can empathize and understand some of what we go through (our ups and downs) because they feel or have had similar feelings.
A partner may not even be someone we think of as a friend, but sharing experiences creates an undeniable bond.
Satellites really help us grow and reach our goals. They help us keep going, like marathon runners encouraging each other to keep going.
A partner is also best suited to help us in times of need because he truly understands our wishes and our situation.
Friendship AND Relationship?
As we go through life, it is important to have other people to walk with. Sometimes our closest friends are on different paths and that is why we need friends.
You may hear that long-term partners or lovers treat each other like friends because they really help each other grow.
However, a partner is present in your life only as long as your path remains the same. When the paths are different (as they often are), a partner is likely to leave her life forever.
There can be an infinity of friends, even if they don't fully understand us or share our ideals. Friends can love us or hate us, but in the end, they give us a different perspective of the world because of their different perspective.
Why do we need both?
Some people may be looking for friends, which is not all bad, because friends are good for some good experiences.
But if you want to grow and develop, you must find not only friends for happiness, but also friends for your own growth.
It is difficult to survive alone, so friends and comrades are needed. Both are needed for different reasons and both are needed for balance.