FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES...

 FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES...

If one day

My heart is consulted

To find out if you went wrong

It will be hard to deny

My heart has a mania for love

Love is not easy to find

The mark of my disappointments remained, remained

Only a love can erase

What heart hasn't gone astray once, when love is at stake? Our heart has "love mania", and we always live after this feeling, don't we? Loneliness is something that scares us, we are always looking for someone to share our lives with...

Well, it's not exactly about this kind of love (romantic) that the lyrics of this beautiful poetry, a love song to a Samba School composed by the magnificent Paulinho da Viola talks about. Once again our poets show us that all our actions, no matter what they are, are guided by this feeling. And, yes, we just look around us. Our love is dedicated to everything we consider important in our lives. And examples abound. We love that magazine that catches us up to date with the gossip of celebrities, we love the soap opera that we follow religiously every day on TV, we love the "mutt" dog we have at our house... some love to play football, others love to dance. As for football, it is no exaggeration to say that it has the status of a religion in our lives. People do crazy things for their favorite clubs or their football idols. But of course other segments also have loyal followers. In music, cinema, sports, we have our idols. It is clear that the characteristics of the followers of each segment is different from the others. By the way, that's what's funny... if a person is fanatical about three or more segments, their expression of love for them varies according to the group they are inserted. That is, she becomes several different people, with characteristics specific to the society she is part of at the time...

But this feeling also varies when it is directed from one person to another. The love you dedicate to a friend is different from what you offer to a colleague... yes, colleagues and friends are not the same thing. Many people confuse these feelings, and call those people who are still in the second stage of intimacy in our life friends. Yes, because we go through several stages until we reach the peak in a relationship with another person. And, according to our behavior, according to our common interests, we are being promoted in importance in other people's lives. We started out as simple "passers". If something different in our actions arouses the other's interest, the other comes to strike up a conversation with us and we move on to the "acquaintance" stage. We still don't have that freedom with her, but we start to get to know each other, discover how many things we have in common... if interests converge to the same point, then we move on to the next hierarchical level, which is collegiality. That's it, we got another promotion... and it's at this point that we start opening up to the person, telling them more about ourselves and asking about them, wanting to know as much as possible about their life. Yes, we already felt safe to have some kind of intimacy with her. This intimacy can be to a greater or lesser degree, the kind you already go to at the other's house, for example. Of course, you don't invite all of your peers into your home, just those with whom you have the most rapport. And of course, not everyone will accept your invitation, as many of them may not feel the same feeling you have for them. After all, people are different, each one seeks something that is almost never the same as what the other wants. Anyway, if your colleague accepted your offer and came to visit you, it means that you two are preparing to take the next step, and a new promotion is on the way. If, after all the tests the two pass through, you conclude that they are people with the same goals, well... the two will be promoted to friends, when the degree of intimacy will be much greater, where the degree of trust will grow exponentially.

You can see that this is exactly the process of promotion in a company, right? After all, when you are admitted to a new job, you are subjected to a probationary period, where you can show your skills. If they are what your employer expects, you will gain new assignments... Climbing the ladder of positions in the company will depend on your professional effort, but also on getting in the good graces of your superiors, who will notice characteristics in you that set you apart from the rest. of the group. And this is present in all segments of our life...

You've noticed that I've neglected to mention the growth of human relationships when we reach the "friends" stage, haven't you? And you must be wondering why... well, it's simple... most of us poor mortals will never pass this stage in the lives of most people in our circle of acquaintances... I'm saying "acquaintances" on purpose, because even someone's "friend" rank is hard to achieve. I would say that people confuse the meaning of these two words, as they confuse the meaning of many others. "Flu" and "cold", for example... most people don't know the difference between the two... it's the same thing with "friend" and "colleague"... they are similar in their descriptions, but very different in their essences.

Very few people reach the rank of "best friend" to others. This is the highest degree of trust in our lives, when we really start to share all our experiences with others. And for those who are bestowed with this privilege... well, their obligations to the other increase a lot, since they must keep only the intimacy of the other, which they so generously shared with her. And that's where many times, by confusing "colleague" with "friend", people get hurt. Because when they believe that the person they started trusting blindly had already reached the "friend" stage and they opened their hearts telling things about themselves that not even their families had access to, well... the person in question ends up sharing what they were for your ears only to God and the world...

It's 9:30 am on this cloudy Sunday, where the thermometers show 20ºC at this moment. The forecast is that the day will remain like this for the entire period. That is, we will have another cold day out of season in this crazy summer of ours. It may rain... or not... during the day...

May God pour His Blessings on our heads, and grant us a wonderful day, with those we love. May this be the most beautiful Sunday we've ever had the privilege of experiencing... May God bless us all... see you tomorrow, if He so permits...