FRIENDSHIPS BETWEEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS

FRIENDSHIPS BETWEEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS 

Aristotle maintains that “the friendship that exists between siblings is similar to that which exists amongst peers.” Vazquez de Prada shares the same opinion: “Frequently relationships do not develop further due to a misguided urgency to keep one’s thoughts to one’s self. Personal thoughts are less likely to be revealed by one’s companions than by those in the home. It is better to say that outsiders only know bits and pieces while in the home it is impossible to have ‘half secrets.’“


It appears that between siblings there is greater resistance to confiding in one another than among friends. The reason is obvious: friends keep secrets better than siblings. No one shares something intimate knowing the person will pass it on to others (“others” being parents and the other siblings).

Possibly, lack of confidentiality among siblings may be attributed to the intensity or family life. It is not easy to maintain silence in matters concerning those we live with so intimately (parents and siblings).

As a result, the relationship among siblings is reduced to that of acquaintances; lacking in the indispensable condition of friendship “baring one’s to the other, communicating intimate thoughts. Here we have an objective to achieve in family enrichment: that siblings learn to confide in one another and to respect these secrets. They must learn that not everything a sibling shares should be communicated within or outside of the family.
 
 



Just like pairs of boots laid out by the back door, ready to be worn the next day for whatever purpose intended rivalries amongst sibling are best left outside for a while...Left to rest as if in a sabbatical day till the time comes to resume our intentions for friends with our blood relatives. Brotherly love will be enhanced with a new ingredient: friendship. It is not a matter of forgetting blood ties in order to become friends, but rather of loving one another better and more profoundly. In order to make this a reality they need to learn to confide in one another, thus arriving at friendship.