My Friend or An Act of Charity?

Sympathy: the feeling that you care about and are sorry about someone else's trouble, grief, misfortune, etc.

That's the definition of sympathy we are most familiar with and the one we often denote with the world's usage. It arises out of a feeling of superiority over the other, considering the other less privileged, and unfortunate. How often would you use that word to describe your relation with somebody, especially a friend? Can friendship ever be a product of sympathy? Can you ever befriend somebody that you consider pathetic in their inferiority?

I guess not!

Friendship is a commute of two amicable souls, where both appreciate and acknowledge the worth of other in their bond.

Friendship is a divine bestowal that aids you on the path of self discovery, for your friend will always be your biggest critic, condemning your wrongs and appraising your rights.

Friendship is the basis of all other relations: a mother and her child's; a wedded couple; sibling's and thus if this friendship is tainted by pride and a sense of self preservation these relations can never be fulfilling in the long run and never come to fruition.

Alas, when sympathy exists in friendship, the friend will always continue to be a burden on you that you're carrying because you are benevolent in your supremacy, so how far along the road of life, do you expect to willingly carry this burden without expecting gratefulness in return from your friend?
Is expecting gratefulness from your friend an appropriate ingredient in the mix of strong friendship?

Analyse your list of friends and think how many of them are just a burden that you're bearing as an act of charity.