Category: Friendships

My last post, Why Friendships End stated that every friendship will come to an end. Some slowly fade for a variety of reasons. Some end quickly due to betrayal or unexpected death. But all will every friend will eventually die. This leads us to an interesting question: What’s your worldview, especially about eternity? This post describes why friendships with a spiritual component are the highest type of friendship. It also helps show how your worldview can impact all of your relationships. Before I continue, let me provide a few disclaimers. First, this question does not mean you and your good friends must be in alignment with every belief and viewpoint. But I do believe that the most authentic friendship –what I call GodBuddies, needs a spiritual component that helps men think about eternity and their legacy.  Second, in this post, I’m not going down the deep rabbit hole of sociology,

My last post on The Benefit of Diverse Friendships explained that we become better men by having friends with a wide variety of racial, religious, socioeconomic, educational, gender/sexual orientations, nationality, ethnicity, age, and —yes, even political viewpoints. But when men are friends with a woman who is not their wife, there is a huge risk. This post explains why many guys must proceed with caution in friendships of the opposite sex.  Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus The New York Times #1 Best-Selling Relationship Book of All Time is Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships. Written in 1992 by relationship counselor John Gray, the book has sold more than 15 million copies. Dr. Gray states that most relationship problems between men and women are a result of psychological differences between the sexes.

My year-long series, New Year; New Types of Friends now moves to examples of friendships in the world of music. From backstage hang-outs and long-time creative partnerships to enthusiasts who bond over a specific band, friendships over music help strengthen our social bond and connection as friends. There are several examples of friendships and numerous songs that teach us about companionship, camaraderie, support, and brotherhood. Although I’m not a trained musician, nor can I carry a tune, I do love to listen to music and will provide some examples to show how music helps develops close friendships. Music Strengths Our Social Bonds English composer, Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (1921 – 2006) once said, “Music is the social act of communication among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is.”  There are many reasons why music strengthens our social connections. They bond over a specific genre or band. They like