Who Are Your True Friends?

At present, I believe, in the English language we throw around certain words so much that often we are diminishing their true meaning. Some of the words that come to mind at this very moment are love, sorry, and friend. I mean, I “love” your sweater; I am sorry for telling you that my friend.

According to Facebook, a human can only have 5,000 “friends” so their human profiles only allow 5,000 connections with other humans. Honestly, who can possibly have 5,000 friends, let it be known we are not even talking about “true friends” which, I am sure, most people in the world can count with the fingers of one hand; rarely the fingers of two hands are needed. That’s what I mean, by using the term “friend” so superficially when we mean to say acquaintance or simply a follower we devalue the true meaning of the word for the 5 or 10 people who we can truly count on and vice versa.

The same for love, I mean, people don’t fancy things or even like things anymore, they simply LOVE anything and everything. In Spanish we have several degrees from “me gustas,” “te quiero” and lastly “te amo” which helps, but often amor is also being used without care for its true meaning.

I am sorry for being this honest with you today, but is there a true sorrow really afflicting my heart. I hear people use the term I am sorry for just about anything when they are truly not sorry. Fíjese comes to mind as a Guatemalan word the preludes a “lo siento” or “I am sorry.” Fíjese, of course, gives it away, that you are not sorry at all.

Oh don’t you love the nuances of language. I have said enough for now my friends, sorry for taken 2 minutes of your life, but it was for the love of words, you know. However, if I did it correctly, I do hope to have taken more than two minutes of your thoughts.

Elí Orozco says:

April 26, 2014 at 10:02 am

I LOVE today’s post Rudy!
And true friends are those who give back lent books…

Manolo Romero Escobar says:

April 26, 2014 at 4:56 pm

NO tenga pena Don Rudy

Janna Rudler says:

April 26, 2014 at 6:39 pm

Rudy, your words are true, and this is something that should resound in all our hearts. It used to be, in a time before telephones, computers, and even typewriters, that if someone wanted to say something to someone else, they had to either say it to their face, or write it out by hand in a letter. I think that people gave more thought to their words back then. Now, words are so hastily typed, texted, and sent – instantly and remotely. Because of this, speaking can be so thoughtless. We should choose our words wisely, always strive to find new ways to say things to give more nuanced meaning, and always say what we mean, and mean what we say. Being bilingual (or tri, or multi-lingual) gives us more options for saying, but also more opportunities for understanding. Thank you for you post. Your best ones are always the ones that show your true heart.

NYChapin says:

April 28, 2014 at 8:00 am

I’m sorry I am just getting around to reading this entry Rudy. Otherwise I would have prescribed you a couple of Maya worry dolls, like the ones I bought for my friends during my recent trip to Antigua. I don’t know what makes a true friend, but I am fortunate to feel that I have a few of them in my life. Like the two that left voice messages asking how was my trip, before I was even back. Recently I read that a true friend is someone who “criticizes you in person, and defends you behind your back.” And Neruda once said that there was nothing more delicious than wasting time, chatting it up with friends. I am glad that I had the chance to do that with you and Eli from GDP. Salud and thanks for the photo, it made it to NYC and my girlfriend agreed with my choice. It should go up on wall soon.

Who Are Your True Friends?

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