I thought it was really interesting how the author of “Best
Friend Rights and Responsibilities”, Mindy Kaling, described attempting to cheer up a
depressed friend as being tedious and boring, almost as if it were a chore. I
guess I can understand how this mindset may come around but completely disagree
with it. I think that brightening a friend’s mood can be an opportunity to
practice compassion and listening, and if you notice your friend feeling better
it can be extremely rewarding. Not to mention that the title of the book “Best
Friend Rights and Responsibilities” kind of bothers me, as if friendship can be
boiled down to a formula or set of rules. I haven’t read the book so I can’t
give much of an opinion on it, maybe it gives excellent advice on how to be a
better friend, but the title is a bit weird to me.
One part of the article I thought was funny was when Beck
mentions how University of Manchester, Thomas House, compares a happy friend
to an annoying sprinkler turned on directly at your face. There are times when
I’m upset and just want to be with my thoughts and can definitely relate to
this analogy. Maybe this happy friend can be seen as nuisance because as Beck mentions later they may be threatening our
“autonomy, competency, and relatedness.” All in all I agree with the articles
and it seems like common sense that having an emotionally healthy group of
friends helps to nurture a positive outlook.
No comments:
Post a Comment