My Blog: a barometer of friendship

There are many ways to measure friendship.  One very important and obvious answer is the availability of the friend in times of needs.  If the friend is there for me when I needed him, he is a true friend.

Also a true friend is often interested in knowing my events and affairs.  He would asks how I am and what is new with me.  Not just the social etiquette of asking "How are you?" or "what's up?" to a stranger.  It is the asking and attentively hearing what I am saying.  Recently, I realized that a true friend would be also interested in reading my blog about things that happened to me or things that interest me.  That friend would be interested in reading my blog and learning my opinion on things/events/issues.  That friend would show true interest on me even if we are geographically apart.

This blog barometer of friendship I found delightfully adequate in two of my friends.   I have known for quite some time now that my friend Gen in Florida do read my blog.  And I am always very pleased to hear her talk about what she read about me.  It shows that she is truly interested in me.  Also recently, I discovered that my friend Hawking in Singapore have been secretly reading my blog.  Although we were out of touch for a while, he remained connected to me somehow by reading my blog.  That sends a warm feeling of affection for my friend.  I know he is a true friend despite of his absence from my life for a period of time.

One might say it is narcissistic of me to measure friendship if that person read or does not read my blog.  But truth be told, I apply the same standard to me.  I would read my friend's facebook post since I truly want to know what is going on with them.  As for other friends that I had a falling out of, I just stop reading their blog or following their facebook updates.  I just have little interest about what is going on with them.

To summarize my thought, I say that those friends of mine who do read my blog also do hold our friendship at a higher estimation than those who don't.  It shows that reading my blog is still a high enough priority in their life.