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On Friendship

Nice essay which among other things talks about the commodification of the word friend in the modern world. Back in the day, I remember being "purist" as far classifying someone a friend. Between age four to twenty there had been five people who I called my friends. The determination was mostly made on the basis of my answer to the question - what is the most I would be willing to do for this person no matter the consequence to me. Two of them have remained friends to this day. The other three dropped off my life due to circumstances neither of us controlled. I still think of them fondly and if ever we were to reconnect, I believe it would be like we had never parted ways. 

 Which leaves a whole slew of people who have been part of my life, shaped and influenced it in more ways than I can count. Are they not friends because I would not be able to answer the operating definition question so assertively? Their value and contributions cannot be underestimated just because I am not able to rise as high as I aspire for them. Maria Popova in this essay describes this group of people in our lives very eloquently

 the kindred spirit — a person whose values are closely akin to our own, one who is animated by similar core principles and stands for a sufficient number of the same things we ourselves stand for in the world.

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