Are Friends better than Relatives

Blood relatives often have nothing to do with family, and similarly, family is about who you choose to make your life with. -Oliver Hudson

Are friends better then relatives, These words clearly indicate that strangers can also make our lives better than the ones who we are associated with ever since we are born. Traditions advocate family systems and values and require people to live together in big ‘havelis’ and our grandparents still cherish those happy times. But with the course of time there were clashes and conspiracies within the families against each other for money and land which compelled this old custom to split into smithereens. And this broken system urged people to live in their small families and discover people with whom they can share their thoughts and can trust even if it means intimacy with strangers. This way friendship got underway and these aliens are termed as friends. These are the people with whom we are happy unconditionally and can rely upon. Now let’s see what makes them better than blood relatives. First of all, they are not imposed upon anyone by someone else and are chosen with careful thought judiciously and after that this bond of friendship is cemented with affection, trust, love and care. And most importantly this acquaintance is not corrupted by the unholy mess of money and physical assets, if indeed friendship is true between concerned people. Friends are not like our blood relatives who pretend to be happy in our glory and splendor and feel jealous of us from inside but these associates are truly supportive and understanding. They act as stress-busters and morale boosters in many situations. We can unwind all our hectic daily work just by chatting with our friends. In money matters too, friends are more helpful because in immediate problem they can be of greater help because they are closer geographically whereas our rich relatives may not lend a great help because of their not so close proximity. There is no one like best relative but there is definitely a best friend who is there for us. But all this certainly does not outshine the importance of relatives as well because in a situation where we find that our friend is mean and befriend with us for his/her selfish whims; in that case relatives are last resort. Friends need not be permanent and clashes are a usual phenomenon and cannot be avoided. So having a good friend does not mean that there is no importance of our relatives and there should be a subtle interplay and balance of both these important figures in our life.