Do you know of someone who gives a lot more into a friendship than the other person? I mean, a whole lot more! So much more that you wonder why this person even continues to be a friend to the other person simply because the other person doesn’t seem to be giving as much, if at all. This beckons the question - is the strength of a friendship determined/judged by the reciprocity factor? In other words, is the reason to stay in a friendship dependent on how much each party gives to each other? Business relationships are mostly determined by reciprocity, ie. how much one gets back for what one gives away to the other party. But friendship? What do you call someone who gives more into a friendship and gets a lot less back? Did you say “stupid”? Or did you say “a true friend”? I’d like to think most of you would say it’s the latter - “a true friend”. Of course, when we see someone we care about, giving more than he/she receives from a relationship, we tend to want to tell this person to give up the relationship. Because we hurt to see this person being treated unfairly or being taken for granted. But think again…it really depends on the person whether he/she wants to give more than the other party. That is his/her commitment to the friendship. We have no right to impose our rules on anyone; what makes us think we are right? So, if you’re one of those who had been receiving more than you have been giving, consider how much this friendship means to you and do something about it. If you’re one of those giving more, well, bless you. The world needs more people like you. Just be happy and don’t be hurt.
Joe