Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay
We may be familiar with people who are frugal or miserly in regards to their finances - and interacting with such individuals can be a challenge. We've all had similar moments - like pretending to haggle over prices in a store or forgetting to pay the bill at a bar some time. Even our interactions with beggars on the street, where we choose not to give them money or food, shows us that this kind of behavior is second nature. These personality traits have been within us since childhood, when we'd yearn for and become envious of what another person had. But after years of experience, shouldn't we have grown wiser? Is friendship about judging others based on their attitude towards money? Or should we accept those close to us for who they are regardless? Call me old fashioned, but I don't judge my friends on their merits. Sometimes that part of my character has caused me problems, but people are what they are - the good and the bad.
I have a lot of friends, and I love them all for who they are. Ever since I was young, I've been taught that it's important to be honest with my friends. After all, what are friends for if we can't be honest with each other? It can be difficult to be completely honest with our friends, especially when we know that what we have to say might not be what they want to hear. But it's important to remember that our friends are always going to be there for us, no matter what. After all, it's better to have a friend who knows the truth about us and what we think about them than one who only knows the version of ourselves that we want them to see.
My circle of friends has a few members who seem to be rather tight-fisted and grasping. When I detect that they are serving themselves over others or they cross the line, I confront them with it. Fortunately, their behavior has changed considerably lately. Take one of them for example - he would always choose restaurants without card payment so that he wouldn't have to pay the bill himself - he never has any cash. Fast forward a few months and now he is working as a delivery man. Тhis experience showed him the flipside of that same coin. He had customers who didn't tip him, lied about paying with cards and sometimes didn't pay at all! When he called me up to tell me his plight, I was struck by what he said - "I was wrong, forgive me". This was something extraordinary coming from somebody who used to be so full of pride! But it just shows how everyone needs to learn things at their own pace, whether it's days or decades later. Nobody should be judged for their past misdemeanours or present state as you never know what the future may bring - even criminals can end up priests, bullies can start helping out kids etc. We should accept everyone as they are and not try to brand anyone as entirely bad because at the end of the day everyone is human with flaw.
Let our children not grow up in a terrible world. Together we can make it better. It is our destiny to
suffer from the past, to long for the future, but to forget the present.
Any unsourced images and writing are my own. Life is worth it!
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