How to Keep Your Friendship in Perspective

As you all know, none of your friends are perfect and I am sad to tell you that neither are you. The real truth is that you all make mistakes, actually, so do I. I just had lunch with my favorite brother and in a one hour conversation, we both said things that the other did not like, but that is how it is with friendship.
My advice to you in this matter of keeping things in perspective is to count to five before responding to something you did not like. Sure it probably hurt you but is it really worth losing a true friend over? I think not, and I hope that you agree. I bet some days nothing can faze you but like all of us, some days you react to everything. You all have your bad days and yes you all deal with a myriad of problems, do not allow these problems to cause you to do or say things that are truly hurtful. You know how it feels to be hurt and how long it lingers in your mind, so why try to make your friend feel the same way?
Does misery really like company?
Always give your friend the benefit of the doubt. I believe the closer the friend is to you the easier it is for that friend to hurt your feelings. But remember that goes both ways, you may hurt that same friend quite easily. Friends do not allow painful things to build up, talk to her and explain how you feel. Keep your lines of communication open, remember, should you walk away while you are hurting, it will be very tough to resolve later. If you continue to allow things build up, one day there will be an explosion. And most likely your friendship will end over some matter that is hardly worth the time of day.
My best advice to you is to have a forgiving relationship and never hold a grudge - get any problems out in the open and you will always be able to keep your friendship in perspective. And as always you must live well to be well.

I think. I read. I care. I inform. I coach. We all need friends, get back to me. Tell me how to keep friends.