Poster:
Things you learn in life, but are never explicitly taught.
All relationships are mutually beneficial. If they aren’t, it is entirely one sided and can become almost parasitic with one person always taking. This applies to marriages as well. Both friends must bring benefit to the relationship for it to be mutually beneficial. Even just the confidence of knowing a person will always have your back brings about peace. It is so critical to know who your true friends are. In times of trouble the true ones always rise to the occasion.
Elli:
First of all it would be better to be focused to the epicurean saying 44. And then let's read the following excerpt that is from Pericles epitaph by Thucydides. It's not a coincidence that Thucydides had the same origin with Epicurus, since both were from the old prominent "house" of Philaides.
The excerpt: <<We make friends by doing beneficial deeds to others, not by receiving the same benefit from them. This makes our friendship all the more reliable, since we want to keep alive the gratitude of those who are in our debt by showing continued goodwill to them: whereas the feelings of one who owes us something lack the same enthusiasm, since he knows that, when he repays our kindness, it will be more like paying back a debt than giving something spontaneously. We (the Athenians) are unique in this. When we do beneficial deeds to others, we do not do them out of any calculations of profit or loss: we do them without afterthought, relying on our free spirit>>.
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The free spirit is doing beneficial deeds without any calculations or afterthought of profit or loss! Like the flowers that offer to Nature all of their beautiful colors and perfumes without any consideration and hesitation! Like the sun when it sets is offering the most beautiful gold colors making the poor fishermen to feel wealthy.
Free spirits are doing beneficial deeds to others without considering what they will get afterwards. Free spirits are so strong, because they don't let any bitterness to force them even to think for one moment that what they gave was ultimately in vain or waste of time. Free spirits focus to the journey and what they’ve gain as experiences rather than the final destination of the journey. Free spirits are wealthy of feelings and powerful all the time, because they are the prodigal-prudent, and to be prodigal and at the same time prudent it is not a schema oxymoron. Because to give all you have of your genuine thyself and at the same time to remain prudent is bliss and whoever is blissful is free and whoever is free is brave (this is by Thucydides too). These are the real/genuine men!
Some inferior men are crying with bitterness saying that whatever they gave was without to get, for this reason are considered by nature weak and insecure.