Be A Friend Quotes

When we love somebody, whether it be a friend, a parent, a child, whether it be conjugal love or neighborly love, the beloved person always stands before us as something precious and noble in himself. ~ Dietrich Von Hildebrand

The love of God. The mercy of God. The judgment of God. You take the shoes off your feet and stand as you would before a mountain or at the edge of the sea. But the friendship of God? It is not something God does. It is something Abraham and God, or Moses and God, do together. Not even God can be a friend all by himself apparently. You see Abraham, say, not standing at all but sitting down, loosening his prayer shawl, trimming the end off his cigar. He is not being Creature for the moment, and God is not being Creator. There is no agenda. They are simply being together, the two of them, and being themselves. ~ Frederick Buechner

Isn't friendship amazing? At one time, our friends were just strangers to us. However, there was something special about these strangers; you felt a connection, something in common, a special bond, and your friendship began. What if, as we pass all of the 'strangers' in our lives, if we looked at these strangers as if they could be a friend? What a different world it would be…. ~ James A. Murphy

To be a friend means to offer happiness. If love doesn't offer happiness, if it makes the other person cry all the time, then it's not love; it's the opposite. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Christmas is an invitation by God to say: Look what I've done to come near to you. Now draw near to me ... I want to be a friend. ~ Timothy Keller

What sort of man would you choose for yourself, Liadan?, he asked me.
One who is trustworthy, and true to himself, I answered straightaway. One who speaks his mind without fear. One who can be a friend as well as a husband. I would be contented with that. ~ Juliet Marillier

A feller's glad to be a friend, Out fishin'. A helpin' hand he'll always lend, Out fishin' The brotherhood of rod and line An' sky an' stream is always fine; Men come real close to God's design, Out fishin'. A feller isn't plotting schemes, Out fishin'. He's only busy with his dreams, Out fishin' His livery is a coat of tan; His creed, to do the best he can; A feller's always mostly man Out fishin'. ~ Edgar Guest

What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself. ~ Seneca.

I loathe the telephone - vile, shrill-voiced intruder. i'd never answer it at all if I didn't feel I might be missing something: a million-pound offer from a film company or Robert Mitchum asking me out to lunch. I hate the element of uncertainty - you never know if it's going to be a friend or a foe on the line. I wish they'd invent a telephone which turned green like a breath-test when it was an enemy ringing, so I needn't answer it. ~ Jilly Cooper

Then I read that Jesus was a friend of sinners. This still bothers me. Not because Jesus was a friend of sinners (because that came in really handy in my case). It bothered me because if I'm trying to live like Jesus, that means I'm supposed to be a friend of sinners too. ~ Dillon Burroughs

One of my mentors early on was Eli Harari, the founder of SanDisk, who happened to be a friend of my dad's. ~ Nick Woodman

It's scary to make friends, it's scarier to stand up for a friend, but it's scariest to not be a friend for fear will be your only company. ~ Justine Hail

Let me live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend to man. ~ Sam Walter Foss

For whoever knows how to return a kindness he has received must be a friend above all price. ~ Sophocles

If we truly want to be tools in the hands of our Heavenly Father in bringing to pass His eternal purposes, we need only to be a friend. ~ Marlin K. Jensen

Can't I another's face commend, Or to her virtues be a friend, But instantly your forehead louers, As if her merit lessen'd yours? ~ George Edward Moore

Those that are a friend to themselves are sure to be a friend to all. ~ Seneca The Younger

You cannot be a friend to someone else, if you do not have a friendship with yourself. ~ Toni Sorenson

You have to be a friend to have them. ~ J.M. Richards

I will be a Friend to you, and you shall take care of my Linen ~ Samuel Richardson

If I had a brother who had been murdered, what would you think of me if I ... daily consorted with the assassin who drove the dagger into my brother's heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the crime. Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; can you love it? ~ Charles Spurgeon

We both learned how to be a friend by watching the women who came before us. Women who taught us that it's okay to show someone who you really are-that when you stop hiding behind a mask of perfection and protection, you unlock something beautiful.... Our girlfriends weave a luminous thread from the women we are to the women we hope to become, We may never find perfection, but we'll never be alone. ~ Melanie Shankle

The best thing a man can do on a first date is be a friend. I think that's the biggest mistake men make on the first date. Just get to know me. Be my friend. Just kick it with me as if I was hanging with a homeboy. It shouldn't be this awkward situation. It should be that we're there, having a great time. ~ Adrienne Bailon

The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life--knowing that under certain conditions it is not worth while to live. He is of a disposition to do men service, though he is ashamed to have a service done to him. To confer a kindness is a mark of superiority; to receive one is a mark of subordination... He does not take part in public displays... He is open in his dislikes and preferences; he talks and acts frankly, because of his contempt for men and things... He is never fired with admiration, since there is nothing great in his eyes. He cannot live in complaisance with others, except it be a friend; complaisance is the characteristic of a slave... He never feels malice, and always forgets and passes over injuries... He is not fond of talking... It is no concern of his that he should be praised, or that others should be blamed. He does not speak evil of others, even of his enemies, unless it be to themselves. His carriage is sedate, his voice deep, his speech measured; he is not given to hurry, for he is concerned about only a few things; he is not prone to vehemence, for he thinks nothing very important. A shrill voice and hasty steps come to a man through care... He bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of his circumstances, like a skillful general who marshals his limited forces with the strategy of war... He is his ~ Aristotle

I want to be magic. I want to touch the heart of the world and make it smile. I want to be a friend of elves and live in a tree. Or under a hill. I want to marry a moonbeam and hear the stars sing. I don't want to pretend at magic anymore. I want to be magic. ~ Charles De Lint

To be a friend means that they are always there, for the good or the bad. ~ Rafael Nadal

The child in Bethlehem would grow up to be a friend of sinners, not a friend of Rome. He would spend his life with the ordinary and the unimpressive. He would pay deep attention to lepers and cripples, to the blind and the beggar, to prostitutes and fishermen, to women and children. He would announce the availability of a kingdom different from Herod's, a kingdom where blessing - of full value and worth with God - was now conferred on the poor in spirit and the meek and the persecuted. ~ John Ortberg

I was just trying to be a friend,' I said. 'But you weren't, Charlie. At those times, you weren't being his friend at all. Because you weren't honest with him. ~ Stephen Chbosky

I am a friend when I need to be a friend, a father when I need to be a father, a musician when music calls. I switch roles accordingly. ~ A.R. Rahman

Who is blameless? Only those that blame no one for aught that is, has been or may be. Only in creating hope, life, understanding, harmony, does one become blameless. For, as you understand, they that would be loved must show themselves lovely; they that would have friends must be a friend to others. For in the manner you treat others, you treat your Lord. Let that light which has aroused you be alive, awakened. Condemn no one. And as you come seeking, know, understand, as you create same in the lives of others so is it reflected in your own. ~ Edgar Cayce

To be a best friend, the best word to live by is reciprocity. ~ Debasish Mridha

One must see in every human being only that which is worthy
of praise. When this is done, one can be a friend to the whole human
race. If, however, we look at people from the standpoint of their
faults, then being a friend to them is a formidable task ...
... Thus is it incumbent upon us, when we direct our gaze toward
other people, to see where they excel, not where they fail.
~ Abdu'l- Baha

She knew that she could not be Jem for Will. No one could. But slowly the hollow places in his heart were filling in. Having Cecily about was a joy for Will; Tessa could see that when they sat together before the fire, speaking Welsh softly, and his eyes glowed; he had even grown to like Gabriel and Gideon, and they were friends for him, though no one could be a friend as Jem had been. And of course, Charlotte's and Henry's love was as steadfast as ever. The wound would never go away ... the haunted look faded from his eyes, she began to breathe more easily, knowing that look was not a mortal one. ~ Cassandra Clare

To be a friend of God, you must care about all the people around you whom God cares about. Friends of God tell their friends about God. ~ Rick Warren

To be a friend of the weak-that is the artist's point of departure as well as his ultimate goal. ~ Osamu Dazai

(A) friend doesn't belong to anyone. Friendship is not something you own. Friendship is something you share. To have a friend, you must be a friend. There is no other way. ~ Stephen Cosgrove

I am very sensitive to all form of music, painting, sculpting, dancing, and I love cinema also. For example if I look at the work of the dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who happens to be a friend of mine, everything he does is inspiring to me. ~ Philippe Petit

Oh, she just happened to be a friend of the producer's. Or, oh, they've been trying to get her from the beginning and she just had a spot open up. There are always little loopholes, so I don't take anything personally anymore. ~ Ellen Muth

If you know someone who's depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn't a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather.
Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they're going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It's hard to be a friend to someone who's depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do. ~ Stephen Fry

You shall be told what pleased me to-day in the writings of
Hecato; it is these words: "What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself." That was
indeed a great benefit; such a person can never be alone. You may be sure that such a man is a friend to all mankind. ~ Seneca.

The man that is popular with the world is not a friend of Jesus. You cannot serve two masters. The world hates Christ, and if you are a friend of the world you cannot be a friend of His. You may be sure that something is wrong with you when everybody is your friend. ~ Dwight L. Moody

Whatever it means to be a friend, taking a black eye for someone has to be in it. ~ Gary D. Schmidt

Not everyone is well-equipped to share your burden,
And it's OK . . .
Not everyone is receptive enough to bask in your light,
And it's OK . . .
Not everyone is psychic enough to understand your silence,
And it's OK . . .
Not everyone is crazy enough to associate with your passion,
And it's OK . . .
Not everyone is blessed enough to live your dreams,
And it's OK . . .
Not everyone is dark enough to cast in your nightmares,
And it's OK . . .
If everyone is meant to be a friend,
Why, then, does the word 'enemy' exist?
If everyone cares,
How, then, do you understand indifference?
Trying to make everyone 'see' the way you see just brings about enough heartbreak and conflict.
*The latter is absolutely necessary sometimes :D*
Even if you have to do so for a worthy cause, LOVE should be your watchword. ~ Ufuoma Apoki

So what are you saying?" Keath asked, though it was clear he was dreading the answer.
"I'm saying is that I don't want to be a part of this. I want my life to stay the way it is, and that means I can't be a friend of yours. I don't want any part of the faerie world."
"That's how normal people are supposed to react when they find out about all this," Carlow said, looking pointedly at Kath and Katie, who just shrugged. They had never pretended to be normal. ~ Kalcee Clornel

And you told me life was learning how to be a friend. ~ Ben Howard

Are you a slave? Then you cannot be a friend. Are you a tyrant? Then you cannot have friends. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

We do take pleasure in one thing that you probably won't be able to guess. Namely, making friends with nature ... nature is always there at hand to wrap us up, gently: glowing, swaying, bubbling, rustling.
Just by looking at nature, I feel as if I'm being swallowed up into it, and in that moment I get the sensation that my body's now a speck, a speck from long before I was born, a speck that is melting into nature herself. This sensation is so amazing that I forget that I'm a human being, and one with special needs to boot.
Nature calms me down when I'm furious, and laughs with me when I'm happy. You might think that it's not possible that nature could be a friend, not really. But human beings are part of the animal kingdom too, and perhaps us people with autism still have some left-over awareness of this, buried somewhere deep down. I'll always cherish that part of me that thinks of nature as a friend. ~ Naoki Higashida

Realize that to have friends one must first be a friend. Make friendship a priority in your life. ~ Goswami Kriyananda

Today will never come again. Be a blessing. Be a friend. Encourage someone. Let your words heal, not wound. ~ Germany Kent

Then what's the problem? You keep telling me she's just a job. So, fine. The job's done. You found her. You trained her. Now she has to do her part. She has to kill Dmitri. Whether she can survive the battle or not doesn't matter, and it isn't up to you to decide." Luc got up from the swing and went to Daniel. "Listen, man, I'm trying to be a friend here. You've been down here so long you're starting to think like one of them. Quit trying to grow a conscience and just finish what you started. ~ Angela B. Wade

In order to be a friend to anybody, you have to be a friend to yourself. If you're not a friend to yourself, there's no way you're gonna have any friends. ~ Mike Tyson

Be a friend to life's wild side! ~ Karen B. Shea

After making this long and successful journey, you are not going to let someone bring you down by emotional bullying or manipulation. Give everyone an opportunity to be a friend, but choose only those who create a thriving environment. ~ Kaylyn Austen

You make that climb, take it step by step and hopefully the view is great. I try to be a friend for Miley. I know that's not everyone's parenting style. But I try to be a friend, a partner as a singer, actor, songwriter and let her be a teenage girl and do her thing. ~ Billy Ray Cyrus

I believe in order to make a friend, you have to be a friend. ~ Weili Dai

Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that's not always a biological parent or family member. It may be a friend or neighbor. Often times it is a teacher. ~ Joe Manchin

Well I'm looking at history," she said, pointing at me. "You used to be a friend, but now you stink as a friend! I came here to give you a second chance and you make me smell the crotch of an old book. ~ Jack Gantos

To be a friend of the earth, you have to be an enemy of man. ~ T.C. Boyle

Every Communist working in the mass movements should be a friend of the masses and not a boss over them, an indefatigable teacher and not a bureaucratic politician. ~ Mao Zedong

The biggest single problem of American parents today is the foolish idea that you just have to be a friend to your children. Kids need parents, not just another pal. This means being able and willing to say no, to challenge faulty thinking, and to expect accountability. ~ Steve Biddulph

Life is an opportunity to find a friend and to be a friend. ~ Debasish Mridha

Change should be a friend. It should happen by plan, not by accident. ~ Phil Crosby

To be a friend of the Everglades is not necessarily to spend time wandering around out there. ~ Marjory Stoneman Douglas

I have learned to be a friend to myself Great improvement this indeed Such a one can never be said to be alone for know that he who is a friend to himself is a friend to all mankind ~ Seneca.

But that's not even what she's asking. Cassie wants to know if I'll still walk home with her after school every day, if I'll watch movies with her that I miss hald of because I'm answering her bizarre questions; if I'll still tolerate her mindless chatter and scattered conversations.
If I'll still be nice to her.
This girl who speaks slowly and runs awkwardly, who can only manage short spurts of eye contact and stiffens under anyone's touch, who struggles to match appropriate emotions with situations.
Who finds joy in the simplest of things, who will never sit at a cafeteria table or in a bathroom and say mean things behind people's back.
Who understands more than most people give her credit for.
Who's heart can't seem to hold animosity, even towards those who have been cruel to her.
Who only ever wanted to be a friend to me since the moment she stepped out of her mom's car with a bag of cookies.
"Of course, I will," I promise.
"Yeah, okay." She finally looks up to offer me a wide grin and a nod. "Are you going to eat those Junior Mints? ~ K.A. Tucker

can listen and counsel. You can lend ideas and hard work and home-cooked meals. You can be a friend and a fan. You can share your favorite books and fix a flat tire. You can inspire people and encourage them. You can sweat beside them and support them. But you cannot make their choices for them. You cannot take their excuses from them. You cannot make them resilient. ~ Eric Greitens

As I sat alone on another summer night, I realized something had to change. I had to get out there and make new friends who didn't cling to each other so much that they didn't let anyone else in. I needed someone new in my life. Anyone new and willing to be a friend for awhile or a long while. ~ Elizabeth Heller

One policeman may be a friend, but two are the Law. ~ Margery Allingham

A mistress never is nor can be a friend. While you agree, you are lovers; and when it is over, anything but friends. ~ Lord Byron

One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession. ~ Sophocles

Do not assume a role you have not been given. In other words, don't do the things a wife does until you are a wife. Be a friend until he carries you over the threshold. ~ Michelle McKinney Hammond

I don't know what it's like to be a friend any more than you do. I think "hard" when it should be "soft," or "gentle" when "forceful" is the key. Often it's giving every last drop of blood, then skinning myself and giving the skin too, when all you really want is my skeleton, wagging a bony finger, signing how much I love you.
I've drained and skinned and boned. I've signed back obscenities and watched your bone dust drift away. No, I don't know the meaning of "friend." Teach me? ~ Chila Woychik

Jon wanted nothing more. No, he had to tell himself, those days are gone. The realization twisted in his belly like a knife. They had chosen him to rule. The Wall was his, and their lives were his as well. A lord may love the men that he commands, he could hear his lord father saying, but he cannot be a friend to them. One day he may need to sit in judgement on them, or send them forth to die. ~ George R R Martin

The thing you don't understand about yourself, Vivian, is that you're not an interesting person. You are pretty, yes -- but that's only because you are young. The prettiness will soon fade. But you will never be an interesting person ... What you are, Vivian, is a type of person. To be more specific, you are a type of woman. A tediously common type of a woman. Do you think I've not encountered your type before? Your sort will always be slinking around, playing your boring and vulgar little games, cause your boring and vulgar little problems. You are the type of woman who cannot be a friend to another woman, Vivian, because you will always be playing with toys that are not your own. A woman of your type often believes she is a person of significance because she can make trouble and spoil things for others. But she is neither important nor interesting. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

If we go looking for a friend, we'll find many locked doors. It can be a lonely and often fruitless search. Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard we knock there's not a single person to be found for true friendship. But... when we go out to BE a friend, we find an endless supply of open doors and people to share and experience our lives with. And that's the real key. ~Jason Versey ~ Jason Versey

You have to be a friend to yourself. You know, 'cause if you're not a friend to yourself, you're an enemy to yourself and if someone's a friend of everybody they are an enemy to themselves. ~ Mike Tyson

A brook can be a friend in a special way. It talks to you with splashy gurgles. It cools your toes and lets you sit quietly beside it when you don't feel like speaking. ~ Joan Walsh Anglund

I considered Nat King Cole to be a friend and, in many ways, a mentor. He always had words of profound advice. ~ Diahann Carroll

You can't be everybody's friend, you can't save the world, I learned this word: self-preservation. Once you do that, you can be friends with people, but how would you be a friend to anybody if you're not a friend to yourself. ~ Mike Tyson

Because you are..." Her words faded. What was he? She still remembered his kiss and her gaze dropped to his lips. Their relationship had changed. He used to be a friend, someone who shared a past with her and her family. But now, he was more than that. Every time she saw him, her heart did a strange flutter. She shook herself. He was an opponent. She should view him as she did Blaise. But she couldn't. She didn't want to. She longed to confide in him. But it was so dangerous. "Brilliant?" he encouraged her to continue. "Wise beyond my years?" His smile was contagious. Jaclyn rolled her eyes and turned. "And here I was going to say a good kisser. ~ Laurel O'Donnell

Friendship is the holiest of gifts;
God can bestow nothing more sacred upon us!
It enhances every joy, mitigates every pain.
Everyone can have a friend,
Who himself knows how to be a friend. ~ Christoph August Tiedge

We have more in common than I thought, he mused wryly. He liked the idea that, if either of them ever fell from grace, the other might be there to offer support. It's always easier to become friends with someone you have something in common with. I just hope it doesn't take some socially disastrous fall before she'll consider the possibility I might be a friend. ~ Trudi Canavan

You can gain more friends by being yourself than you can by putting up a front. You can gain more friends by building people up than you can by tearing them down. And you can gain more friends by taking a few minutes from each day to do something kind for someone, whether it be a friend or a complete stranger. What a difference one person can make! ~ Sasha Azevedo

I get attached to people, but they have their own lives, their own problems, and really don't give a shit about anyone else. I knew that was true, and it didn't bother me most of the time. I had learned to be a friend without expecting anything in return. I had learned not to be surprised when people decided that I no longer fit into their lives. (14) ~ Joan Frances Casey

Allow a friend to believe in a bogus prospectus or a false promise and you cease, after a short while, to be a friend at all. ~ Christopher Hitchens

To have a friend, you must first be a friend to yourself ~ Judy Azar LeBlanc

When silence is a living thing, it can be a friend, sometimes even a comfort. ~ Dot Hutchison

It's a great feeling to think that I can be a friend to so many people through my movies. ~ River Phoenix

I knew Faulkner very well. He was a great friend of mine. Well, as much as you could be a friend of his, unless you were a fourteen-year-old nymphet. Then you could be a great friend! ~ Truman Capote

One of the most important responsibilities in the Christian life is to care about others, smile at them, and be a friend to the friendless. ~ James Dobson

What I look for is a man who can be a friend, someone who is an equal and one with whom I feel comfortable. I want to be happy and loved, and not settling for something second best and less than I deserve. But a relationship of and by itself is not what is going to make this gal survive - a relationship is the cherry on the top of the cake ~ Jennifer Aniston

To be a friend takes time, and time is what nobody has. Therefore, real friends are rare. ~ Suzanne Massie

It's the oldest, corniest piece of advice in the world but it still works. The strongest networks are built on friendship. Be a friend not only to the people in your network, but to the people who matter the most to the people in your network. ~ Harvey MacKay

To Have a Friend You Must Be a Friend. ~ Vicki Hinze

If I hadn't read all of Jane Austen and DH Lawrence, Tolstoy and Proust, as well as the more fun stuff, I wouldn't know how to break bad news, how to sympathise, how to be a friend or a lover, because I wouldn't have any idea what was going on in anybody else's mind. ~ Sebastian Faulks

You want to be a good parent and you want to be a friend, and it's hard to be both. You have to balance it as well as you can. ~ Willie Nelson

Your path is not my path. Should we meet at the crossroads and ye be a friend, tarry a while, drink some wine and let us laugh for a while. If ye be foe, continue on your merry way and may our paths never cross again. ~ Virginia Alison

Be a FRIEND and stop worrying about having any ~ John Paul Warren

If I looked into your face / expecting a word or a laugh on the old conditions, / it would not be a friend who met my eye ~ Philip Larkin

He that ceaseth to be a friend never was a good one. ~ Henry George Bohn