About Us	Search	Advertising

	Brought to you by:

What do the people we associate with say about us?

Can you determine what someone is like by taking a look at his or her friends?

This has been an adage for years, but is it really correct to assume you know someone's character simply by looking at who they are friends with?

If I think about the friends I have now and about friends in the past, I am not sure that you could define me by them.

Each of my friends is so completely different to the next.

Yes, we are all unique, but what I mean to say is that they are not the kind of people that would even mix in the same circles.

The only thing a lot of them have in common is being friends with me, and perhaps a strong appreciation for alcoholic beverages... and no, one has nothing to do with the other. I do not drive my friends to drink. Well, at least I hope not!

Another old idea is that you can tell what a person is like by looking at what they wear.

This I also have to doubt.

I can recall a day, a few years ago when I worked for an estate agency: A young guy walked in, dressed like a hippie, no shoes, dirty feet, and my colleagues and I took one look and figured he was going to be one of those disillusioned rental people looking for a two-bedroom house for under R800 a month.

By the end of the week the young "hippie" had bought a three-bedroom house... in cash!

The way we dress does sometimes reflect our personality, but sometimes it just reflects how far into our washing week we are.

Then there are the things we say. The words that come out of our mouths in reaction to something or in a promise. Can you tell if a person is genuine, kind or cruel by the words they say?

Well, I don't know... let's ask George Bush or Robert Mugabe.

Of course you can't. In time you can learn enough about a person to be able to tell if they are being honest, but you can?t take the first words a person says as gold.

Sometimes even good people have a bad day. I bet even Mary Poppins at one time or another told the chimney sweep to bugger off and shove his songs up the chimney shoot!

So if we can't define a person by the friends they keep, the clothes they wear or the words they say, then how do we define them?

Well, I think we just shouldn't try at all.

Why do we all feel the need to fit someone into a box anyway?

Most of us have goodness in our hearts, an evil streak, a naughty side, a friendly demeanour... some sides are just more hidden than others.

The answer, I suppose, is time. Time is the only thing that allows us to see a person's true nature!

So take the time. The time to get to know a new person, to enjoy the ones you already know and if all else fails, buy them a drink. It works for me! You tend to love everyone after a few springbokkies!

	Back to top
©