FROM BEARS (Barry Neil Kaufman): Friendships & Showing Up: Someone misrepresented a friend with a negative and inaccurate comment. Since my friend was absent, I stood up and give clear, supportive and accurate comments about my friend.
We sometimes call this "watching your back." Another person said that impulse is from fear. Actually, for me, it was/is an honor. Silence would be a form of agreement. Let's all stand up for those we love!
Love, Bears
An important friendship skill is to speak about others behind their backs as if they were there. Conversely, to support friends misrepresented behind their backs is also a good friendship skill. It shows you care enough about that friend to show loyalty to them even in their absence. There is also an admirable courage aspect to this. By standing up for your friend, you also might be showing to yourself that you applaud positive, accurate, supportive statements of people in general and do not accept falsehood.
ReplyDeleteMark Oakley