HOW YOU CAN MAKE Friends

"ONE FRIEND IN A LIFETIME IS MUCH; TWO ARE MANY; THREE ARE HARDLY POSSIBLE." -Henry Brooks Adams.


SUCH a remark suggests that true friends are rare.  All too often comments such as "I have no one to turn to,"  "I cannot trust anybody," or "My dog is my best friend" are heard from very  lonely people groping for friendship.  

To make and maintain lasting friendships is a challenge.  A market survey revealed that "in the United States 25 percent of the adult population suffer 'chronic loneliness' and . . . in France half the people have experienced acute isolation."  The proliferation of dating clubs and computer chat rooms and the profusion of newspaper advertisements by those seeking companions indicate that people crave human contact.

Loneliness affects not only a person's mental state but also his physical health, claims Dr. David Weeks, a neuropsychologist. "I  have a very high proportion of patients with anxiety phobias and depression who could be described as lonely.  There are connections between the severity of depression and they severity of loneliness."

Divorce and the breakdown in family life doom more and more people to living life alone.  A survey conducted in Britain concluded that by the beginning of the 21st century, as many as 30 percent of that nation's population would be in one-person households.

The inspired Scriptures foretold that  a spirit of  selfishness would be prevalent in "the last days."  ( 2 Timothy 3:1-5) It appears that many are more interested in material possessions, such as  a house or a car, or in their jobs than in cultivating relationships with other humans.  Observes author Anthony Storr:  "Instead of being  centered on spouse and children, their lives are based on the office.

Next time: TRUE FRIENDS ARE PRICELESS

Watchtower, 2000