Friendships - Does Difference in Wealth Hurt or Help?
During our school days, most of us are not concerned about the families our friends come from. One of our classmates may be from the richest family of the world, but that would not make much difference in our friendship. This thought process changes as we grow. We become conscious of our social standing and compare that to our friends as we grow. Some friendships do not survive because of a wide difference in the wealth of the families, where as some friendships thrive irrespective of all these factors. They are like fairy tale friendships.
Should we look around and make friends with people similar to us in wealth and other social parameters? Can a gardener's son make friend with the son /daughter of the owner of the mansion? Is that good? Will that friendship survive? Let us examine. Friendship depends on the personal equation between two people. It is an emotional bond that does not depend upon money or other such external factors. On the positive side, if you are a poor person and if your best friend is a very rich person, that psychology of money can help you become rich yourself.
If money and social status were to decide friendships then all rich people would be very good friends of each other and friendships would similarly thrive amongst the poor class and the middle-income class. Fortunately this is not so. As I said earlier friendship is an emotional bond and wealth or social status does not count if the attachment is strong. One important condition needs to be fulfilled in such relationship. Both the friends have to ignore these factors and carry on. If the conscious feelings of differences surface and are not handled, the friendship will die. Even otherwise, very strong friendships will face a lot of pressure from the families. If the bond is strong, nothing will make a difference. If the bond is weak, nothing else counts in a friendship. That friendship will die on its own.
