What Is Your Opinion Of A "Good Friend"?

It’s already been said:

A friend will help you move.

A good friend will help you move… a body.

A “good” friend is someone who is trustworthy and dependable, who will be there for you in good times and bad.

Do any of you think that it possibly can have something to do with what you both have in common such as hobbies, viewpoints, what you know about them etc.

@zander101 – Someone with whom you have a lot in common with and know quite well could be called a “close” friend. I use the term “good” friend to qualify their dependability. I also have several “old” friends whom I’ve known since childhood, but we are no longer very close.

@hearkat thanks for your response, it’s appreciated but can the context of a good friend be used to justify what a close friend is or are they different in context??

The most important quality in a good friend for me is their character. There are many differences between me and my best friend of over 35 years, like our politics and religion, but those differences do not get in the way of our lasting friendship. We came together as friends because we were neighbors and we had activities we enjoyed doing together, but it was her character that has keep me drawn to our friendship. We can go months without speaking, but we will always be there for each other when we need that connection.

This quote is a good example of a good friend:

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen

@zander101 – “Good” is a relative term, so its meaning always depends on the person using the word and their definition within that context.

It is all of those things and more. A good friend listens to your problems and triumphs. A good friend is fun to be with.

@hearkat, do you feel that the relationship with your old friends from childhood disbanded due to age, possibly time, distance, lack of things in common….

@zander101 – Yes. I graduated High School long before the internet and social media, so we drifted apart in various ways.

@zander101 I’m 42 and my two closest friends, excluding my husband of 21 years, are friends I’ve known since grade school.

Someone who is helpful and in turn someone you have no problem with helping. It’s a person with commonalities and mutual respect.

The only way to have a good friend is to be one.

A friend is a person that will loan you money, help you move and will tell you what you need to hear.

All others are acquaintances..

Yes, character and like mindedness are important to me.
I enjoy bright, witty, intelligent and divergent thinking types, but character is tantamount even if packaged in an otherwise boring but solid personality.
I have one friend like this that I have known for 8 years now.
She is not imaginative or intellectual but she is practical and would do anything for me.

She brings pragmatism to the table and I bring abstract thought and humor.
I admire her strong will and “get ‘er done” attitude and she enjoys my wit, humor and philosophical musings.

I have a few close friends. Friends that I see at least once a week or once a month. And good friends they are. I know that if I need anything, they will drop what they are doing and be there for me. They care about me as I care about them. I have other friends that I don’t see as often but know that I am in their thoughts as they are in mine. You don’t need to see someone every day to be good friends. I was told once that good friends know the good and bad about you and love you anyway. I like to think that my friends think of me that way too.

@Neodarwinian You are right. They tell you what you need to hear—not what you want to hear.

@ Pooh54

” @Neodarwinian You are right. They tell you what you need to hear—not what you want to hear. ”

Exactly.

A good friend is totally trustworthy.

A good friend is a person with whom you can totally be yourself and the feeling is mutual. You can not see this person for years and the feeling will still be the same when you do get together. You just pick up where you left off. For me, that’s been very rare.

For me, a friend is someone who is there through good times and even more in bad, who actually cares about you and loves unconditionally.

Someone who never gossips about me. I can tell my biggest secrets and share my worst shames and embarrassments, knowing that a true friend will be discreet and never betray my trust.

I’m not sure. Can a friend be a s/o? If so, someone who listens regardless, who is prepared to listen to right and wrong and still be prepared to hold me at the end of it.

I’ve heard that some people are “givers,” while other people are “takers.” In a true friendship, however, the partners are neither. They both talk when they have something to say, listen when the other person’s speaking, are ready and willing to help when needed, and generally support and care for each other.

If someone gets in touch only when he/she needs a favor, but is otherwise unavailable and just doesn’t have the time, that’s not a friend. If somebody talks, talks, talks but never listens, that’s not friendship.

Haven’t we all had one-sided relationships with people who do nothing but take? At first, we think they’re our friends. Over time, we realize that they’re leeches who make us very tired and frustrated. When we end such relationships, the other parties barely notice; they just move on to the next BFF.

@jonsblond that’s amazing I could imagine that your relationship is solidified and that there is so much love between the three of you, those relationships stand the tests of time.

It is hard to find.

Still looking for one…

@Headhurts “Can a friend be a s/o?”

But of course! I should hope that your s/o would also be your very best friend.

One who is aware that I am a “shitty friend” and doesn’t care.

@SadieMartinPaul He is my only friend. That’s why I asked, haven’t a female relationship to compare it to.

Good friend doesn’t mean you have a same qualities & same thinking. The good friend quality is that you he/she can understand you properly, you’ll feel pleasure when you are with his/her, reason of your happiness, decrease your stress & sadness. Also, who always being with you in your good & bad time, who care about you.

@Headhurts – My fiancé is absolutely my best friend. My other friends are male and female… friendship isn’t limited to your same gender.

A good friend will help you move forward even if it means saying or doing things you don’t want to hear.