“O my friends, there are no friends.”

A friend is a person capable of loving irrespective of whether he is being loved or not. Friendship can
exist between the same sex: man-man, woman-woman, or opposite sex: man-woman. It transcends age
and could subsist between even an old man and a small boy. Human beings also establish friendships
with their pet animals such as cats, dogs, horses, doves and parrots. Friendship can also be felt in
familial relationships between father and son, mother and daughter, husband and wife, brother and sister,
elder brother and younger brother. Yet, more than friendship, love is the binding force in familial
relationships. In a deeper sense, love is below friendship because it is an above/below relation, one of
hierarchy and condition. It is implied, then, that friendship is freedom plus equality. It involves choice
and volition. The concept of friendship needs exploration because often a man is known by the company
he keeps; knowing the company helps one to know oneself and develop his personality to the fullest.
Each of our friends mirrors a rejected or acknowledged trait in us. They happen to be our friends
because it is ourselves in different forms, and a unified vision of them constitutes to the sameness of our
identity.
Generally, friendship exists for three reasons: a) virtue b) usefulness c) pleasure. When virtue is the
reason, friendship exists for the sake of friendship; where both like each other and cherish each other for
some creditable values in the other’s personality. You wish to be the friend of that person for the sheer
personality that he/she has. It has a magic in itself. It attracts you. And it is mutual. You know that
you would even die to swear your friendship for that person. But you also know that the other would
make you live than die for him/her. It is somewhat platonic in concept inasmuch as the other may not be/
need not be all that intelligent and good looking, useful or capable of giving pleasure.
A friendship of the second kind is formed for the utilitarian value of it. How useful so and so is to me?
What can I benefit from him? Can I use his car? Will he use his reputation and influence to fetch me a
good job? Will he lend me money in need? Thus a person may ask and maintains relationship for
practical, professional, and political reasons. I remember the friendship I made with two others on a
train journey from Mumbai to Chennai. It was extremely useful for killing time during the journey.
Further, all of us had to go to the bus-stand to continue our onward travel. Therefore we took an autorickshaw
till the bus-stand and shared the money. But then, once we boarded our buses to our
destinations, we were looking forward to meet our people at the hometown. That is the quality of this....

Low Cholesterol Recipe Examples

Cholesterol makes the heart weak over time. When cholesterol is present in your body, the blood vessels become clogged. Blood vessels create plaque that inhibits proper blood flow. As such, blood can't freely travel to all parts of the body. The direct effect is shortage of oxygen. When this happens, the vital organs would not function well and the entire body system would soon fail. To make sure that this doesn't happen, one's cholesterol level should be watched closely.

Heart diseases are common to older people, especially to those who are above 50 years old. However, young individuals are also at risk of this disease too. As such, they have to find ways to prepare foods that are healthy for the heart.

Here are good examples such recipes. The ones appearing below are very easy to prepare. Start living healthy to live longer. Low cholesterol recipes are all you need to fight all signs of heart diseases. Start preparing these recipes:

1. Cabbage Stew You will need lean ground beef, pinto beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, and coleslaw mix for this recipe. Add all ingredients in a casserole. Put some tomato juice. Simmer under low heat. Sprinkle some seasonings. Serve while hot.

The simplicity of preparing this recipe is perfect for busy individuals. It requires little preparation time so you can practically prepare it on the fly. But even so, it is healthy and delicious. What's more, it has little to no cholesterol content so you can eat as much as you can.

2. Tuna Salad For this recipe, you need a can of tuna in oil or brine. Drain the contents. Flake the tuna meat further into smaller pieces. Put some dried cranberries and pickles to achieve a sweet, sour, and tart taste. Sprinkle some pepper. Add vinegar. Toss all ingredients in a bowl. Make sure everything is well mixed to achieve the desired taste.

This tuna salad recipe is perfect for both lunch and dinner. It is best eaten with a sandwich. When buying bread, choose whole wheat bread or rye. Tuna is good for the heart because it is a good source of Omega 3. Omega 3 is a fatty acid that helps strengthen the heart. If you have high cholesterol level, fish is always the better alternative meat or poultry products.

3. Steamed Salmon Aside from tuna, you can prepare a serving of steamed salmon. Just boil one pack tomato sauce in a deep pan. Add some pepper and seasoning. Steam the salmon using a steamer. Add the boiled tomato sauce to the steamed fish. You can also add parsley for garnishing.

In this recipe, tomato sauce was used an alternative to mayonnaise. While mayonnaise is high in cholesterol content, tomato sauce isn't. In fact, it is even good for the heart because it contains lycopene.

These low cholesterol recipes are good suggestions to keep your heart healthy. Take time to prepare your food for health and longevity. Live healthy. And you would surely live longer and happier.

by Edward Chen

Remember how your relationship was in the very beginning?

You stayed up all night talking about everything - your dreams and desires and even the things that scare or embarrass you. But then, as the relationship went a long, you stopped talking about so much. Everything became so heavy and meaningful.

In the beginning, things were great. There was a level of trust and open communication that created intimacy and understanding. So, what happened to that? Where did it go and how can you get it back?

I used to try to protect my partner from those heavy, bad moods and ugly thoughts. I went to my room and hung out until I felt like socializing again.

I thought I was noble in my ability to control what came out of my mouth.

I thought I was kind because I never let on what I was thinking.

But what I was doing was ruining my relationships. There was no relationship. I was cutting myself off from others and never allowing them to know me. They never knew what I was thinking or feeling or needing.

I was an island. A very lonely island.

I really thought that if I let people know the ugly thoughts, not only would they be hurt - but they would probably become angry and disown me - betray me, talk shit behind my back. I would be the outcast.

So I beat them to the punch! Hah! I'd banish myself to my own room (or apartment, as I got older). I'd banish myself to silence.

You can either have a N.I.C.E. (Not Interested in Connecting Emotionally) relationship... where you hide what is true out of fear. Or you can have an alive, real relationship with intimacy, compassion and understanding.

Some people withhold from their partner and add an extra zinger -- they put on a show of pain and discomfort in order to punish them. It's an effort to communicate just how much pain they're in. But none of it's verbalized. It's a show of the pain.

When you start keeping secrets and withholding,.. when you cut off the sharing of life force between you,... you're cutting off the intimacy in your relationship. Even if you think you're protecting your partner from painful or embarrassing thoughts - it's still destroying your relationship.

Relationships require sharing... both our dreams and desires along with our doubts and fears.

What are you feeling and what needs of yours are being met or not? ...

I'm happy because my need for support in keeping our home is being met.

I'm disappointed because my need for partnership isn't being met in the way we're handling our finances.

I'm sad because my need for connection isn't being met when you're out with your friends every evening.

You can find out more about this style of intimate communication, along with other advice on building healthy, intimate relationships, at our website: www MagicRelationship dot com.

Another tip: when you offer your feelings and needs, it's best to follow them with a request. If you offer them without a request, your partner won't know why you're giving them the information.

Do you want to be just heard?

Do you want advice?

Do you want to come up with a strategy for meeting your needs? Why the heck are you telling me this?

Often, a comment without a request will be taken as blame... which will lead to fixing, fighting or fleeing. Don't leave your poor partner hanging.

Paul and I recommend asking, "Would you tell me what you heard me say?" (Avoid saying 'could'- it implies they aren't intelligent enough to repeat you. And avoid saying "What did I say?" because what you said and what they heard are two different things.)

And one more tip: don't think that little behaviors are enough to be warranted as 'sharing feelings and needs.' Fixing your honey a cup of coffee in the morning is very sweet, but it may not communicate your feelings of love and contentment like actually verbalizing the information. "I love you so much", PLUS the cup of coffee goes much further.

Frowning and throwing around the bed covers while you make the bed may not adequately communicate your feelings and needs, either.

Instead, say: "I'm feeling disappointed because my need for support around the house isn't being met. Would you be willing to discuss a way to help that would also meet your needs?"

There's no room for misinterpretation there.

Try it out this holiday season: make a pact with your beloved to share absolutely ALL your feelings and needs for one day - the good, the bad and the ugly. Then follow the information with a request.

Be prepared to spend some time processing and discussing those feelings and needs as they come up.

However, try to avoid getting into BLAMING and 'FAULT' behind the feelings and needs. That tends to end up in a free-for-all about evaluations and judgments - who's right and who's wrong. Try to stick with feelings, needs and requests.

Try to do this on a day when you'll have the time.

You won't want to get cut off because you have to run to pick up the kids right when you're getting to the heart of an issue that's snuck up silently between you.

You're going to want to stay and hold each other and talk it through... and feel the intimacy of clearing out all of those old, crusty feelings and unmet needs that have been clogging the flow of love.

And, again, you can find out more about this style of intimate communication for relationships, at our website - www MagicRelationship dot com - a along with advice on building healthy relationships.

by Kristin Denton

ketika rasa itu hilang

tak terasa setahun sudah masa itu kulalui...rasa yang sangat membuat bathin serta raga ini tak mampu untuk bertahan mengahadapinya..