“It is not so much our friends’ help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us.” -Epicurus, philosopher (c. 341-270 BCE)

Based on how long ago Epicurus lives, it seems safe to say that some things never change. Just knowing that one has good friends can be a great comfort.

If you are have good friends in your life, I compliment you on the ways that you’ve likely been a good friend.

For those who don’t have good friends in your life, or who wonder about how good your friends are, you might want to consider focusing on becoming a better friend. I have not always been a good friend and there have been times that people who I thought were my friends turned out not to be. Some were merely buddies (ggod-weather friends who are nowehere to be found when times get tough), and some were even false friends, but I’ve worked on becoming a better friend.

I’ve learned that as one becomes a better friend, good friends begin appearing in ever-greater numbers. The reason is simple. Everyone wants to have a good friend. I believe that we all have inside ourselves attributes that can help us to become good friends. May we all eventually find that we have great ones, and may they always be there to help pick us up when we are down, to celebrate our wins and mourn our losses, and to simply share themselves and by doing so make our lives richer.

I’ve also been blessed to have had some good friends even before I’ve earned them by being a good friend myself. In some cases, I had no clue as to just how good of a friend they were until they were there for me when I most needed a friend. To all such people in the world who have done that for me or others: Thank you for making my world a better place!

By the way, I read the above quote from Epicurus in a daily email I recieve from Wordsmith.org called A.Word.A.Day by Anu Garg. The site defines and discusses a different word or phrase every day and includes a quote. I enjoy the quotes at least as much as the learning more about words. Anu Garg appears to be a person who has passion for words and is using it to help the world become better acquainted with the Enlish language. Thank you, Anu!