My friendship lifestyle has been majorly based on virtual friends—friends whom I don’t think I will ever get to see or those with whom I intentionally keep things virtual, even though our distance is close enough to permit meeting if we make an effort. I have loved and still love this lifestyle because it has saved me a lot of stress. Additionally, I have mastered certain habits to keep such friendships running, maintain them at the desired level, and let go of the ones that are not healthy in the long run.
I have a friend whom I met on this blockchain, and she lives on a very far continent. She may come across this post. We talk a lot, especially about our differences in culture, traditions, and lifestyles. However, I have noticed that, as much as we talk often, there are certain aspects of her private life that she does not share about hers. She may be navigating toward that, but whenever she gets close to opening up, she quickly pauses and changes the subject. I just smile when that happens because I understand what’s going on. Seeing this, I respect her boundaries and continue with the new topic. That’s just how it is—there is a need to respect boundaries. Not everyone likes their private life being peeked into.
It all comes down to maintaining boundaries, knowing when to stop with jokes, and understanding what the other person likes. I have some friends with whom I can banter about anything, and we would laugh out loud, while with others, merely initiating a private conversation could turn them off.
Openness and Trust.
Up till today, I still have some of a friend's cryptocurrency in my wallet, and I have been holding it for the past nine years—nothing has happened to it. Way back, this particular friend just returned from China. She does not have an android phone, and since the app that holds the crypto she bought back then was not available on iPhone, she purchased it using my account. Ever since then, the crypto has remained with me. She has now gotten an Android phone, and anytime she chats with me, she asks me to check how well her crypto is doing. I would jokingly tell her to come and collect it because if I die today, there is no way she can retrieve it, and she would just laugh. Sounds like a foolish trust but that's the level of trust she has on me...and we're just virtual friends
I am someone who trusts, and because I know that trust plays a huge role in building and maintaining friendships, I always make myself open to be trusted by anyone who comes around. With this, people feel comfortable and dismiss any thoughts that could make them question the sincerity of our friendship. I am not bragging, but I have met a lot of friends in this blockchain, and one of the key things keeping us together is the openness and trust we share.
However, for me, once I notice that someone cannot be trusted with as little as $0.5, I walk away with ease.
I am aware of the common saying that we should not trust people when money is involved. While that holds some truth, I still choose to apply trust in my way of life, and it has helped keep my friendships going.
Thanks for reading.