by Darcey Lee

Created on: September 16, 2009   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

Friendships can be one of the most complex relationships.

In a healthy friendship, usually you do not have to work hard at anything to keep your friendship going. It is a natural when friends become friends. You have a lot in common and share the same views on things and enjoy doing the same sort of activities. The comfort zone found within a friendship is natural.

At times friendships can become quite complex. As time goes on, two people can change views, expand to new interests and even find another friend. What was once a solid friendship that was coasting along with no bumps in the road now can become complex.

All of a sudden your friend is in a huff regarding the new friend you have been hanging out with. Jealousy, aggravation, cutting remarks and arguments can develop. This can make you stop and wonder, what has happened here? Is the friendship over? Has your friend turned on you?

All in all, friendship is a comfort zone of someone you trust fully. As humans we constantly live in a world of change. This means as we change, things change around us as well. So friendships as well go through the changes. Some friendships maintain the strong bond and do not drift or take work at adjusting, yet other friendships may become strained and you will have to work out differences that lead you back to the original comfort zone you had with your friend.

Then one friend falls in love, runs off and gets married. The single friend has to go through an adjustment stage of sharing what was once their best friend. It is no longer just the two of you hanging out and going to the movies anymore. There is someone else in the picture now, which means adjustments must be made. Time has to be shared. It is no longer the two amigos going out for a night on the town.

As we age things change, our needs change, desires, wants and things we once liked to do no longer have an attraction to do them anymore. As friends, you will both go through adjustments.

Friendship is different than a relationship of two lovers, but at the same time, friendship is a love of its own. A friend is a special person that you open your heart to and share time with. The love of a friend is a strong bond and a trust that is rarely broken and adjusts to everything that goes on as time goes by.

Any relationship can be complex. Friendship is one of them. Do we ever really understand the complexity of anything and why it is complex? No, never fully.

The main thing to remember is in life and through time, we all experience change. With changes come adjustments, new decisions and new outlooks on life and relationships. This is natural. When we change something it may seem complex when in reality, it is just life.

Enjoy your friend and the growth you both experience through time. Some friends are for a short time and some are for a lifetime.

Cherish the friends you have; it would be a lonely world without them.

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