do you think that we are friends

Friends were different from ordinary friends. The interactions between ordinary friends were more polite and polite. Most of the interactions were trivial or superficial topics in daily life. They would not touch on their inner thoughts and feelings. Occasionally, they would only meet for a short time. Their understanding of each other was relatively shallow. For example, they only knew basic interests and hobbies or external performance. The support they gave in the face of difficulties was also relatively limited. It might just be simple comforting words or some help. True friends could communicate with each other without reservation, sharing their deepest feelings, deep experiences, and true selves. They knew each other's personality, background, and inner desires very well. They often accompanied each other and experienced all kinds of things together. Whether it was happiness or pain, they would face it together. When the other party was in trouble, they would not hesitate to lend a helping hand, giving strong encouragement, caring companionship, and practical and effective help. They trusted each other very much and could read each other's thoughts without words. They had a unique tacit understanding and could share blessings and difficulties together. This kind of friendship was deep and precious, and could withstand the test of time and difficulties.

There could be many factors that could cause a good friend to fall to a normal friend. In terms of interests, as people's life trajectories changed, when one party could no longer bring benefits or help to the other party in their career or life, the relationship might change. For example, in the workplace, two people who had established a deep friendship because of their work relationship might become fragile once the position changed and there was a conflict of interest. In terms of lifestyle and values, as time goes by, there may be large differences in lifestyle and values between friends. If they couldn't understand and tolerate each other, it was easy for them to drift apart. Everyone had their own way of life and value orientation, and they could not force their friends to completely meet their expectations. If they could not find common ground in the differences, it would be difficult to maintain the original intimacy of friendship. When there was a deviation in the perception of effort and return in interpersonal relationships, the relationship would also be affected. For example, if one party felt that they had given a lot in the friendship, but did not receive the corresponding return or recognition, such as preparing a birthday gift for their best friend, but the other party found the gift cheap, or they were busy at their best friend's wedding, but the other party did not come to help when they got married. These situations would cause cracks in the relationship. In terms of personal growth and life changes, people were at different stages of growth, and their living environments changed, which might lead to fewer common topics and less time to spend together. Friends who used to talk about everything might gradually reduce their interactions with each other as one party entered a new stage of life, and their relationship would slowly deteriorate.

Once, my friend Tom lost his job. He was really down. I, as his friend, helped him update his resume and practiced job interviews with him. Then I shared some job openings I knew. After a while, he got a new and even better job. That's a simple friends helping friends story.

The friends in the 'elephants and friends story' could be many different animals. Elephants are known to have complex social and ecological relationships. So, their friends could be meerkats that scurry around their feet, looking for insects disturbed by the elephants' movement. It could also be wildebeests that migrate together with elephants, sharing the same water sources and grazing areas. And don't forget about the little dung beetles that depend on elephant dung for food and in turn help in cleaning up the environment. These are all possible friends in the story.