The Undiscovered Country

An untenable position

In a previous entry I said I don’t reveal what my friends tell me in confidence, whether asked for or not. It’s a matter of respect, for one, and of trust. I also said I need to be needed. I appreciate when my friends come to me with their problems and concerns. If I can’t keep our conversations private, then I lose that trust, and in the end, they won’t come to me. Plus, if I reveal anything, it’s gossip, and that’s not a good thing either.

What happens then, when two of my best friends come to me with problems with each other? I certainly can’t reveal what I know to the other, now can I? That would be breaking a confidence, as well as gossiping.

I’m left then with the burden of having to lie, or at least pretending I’m ignorant and stupid.

Makes me question what I wrote a while back about how not having friends is worse than having friends and enduring the occasional heartache.

Being an optimist by nature, I know we’ll work all this out to where none of us are burdened, and instead our friendship strengthened. All friendships face rocky patches, especially the good ones, and these two are the best I have.