Happy and friendship: the main secret we seek in others' eyesWe seek happiness in money, career, travel, shopping, and fame. We buy courses, read books, listen to podcasts. But there is one component that consistently emerges in every serious study, every philosophical system, and every honest conversation about what makes life worthwhile. It is friendship. Not just having acquaintances, but a genuine, deep, trusting connection with other people. Why do we so often forget about this? And why is friendship perhaps the only universal medicine for loneliness that is not sold in pharmacies?Aristotle was right: three types of friendshipAs early as the 4th century BC, Aristotle in his \"Nicomachean Ethics\" sorted out friendship. He identified three types of it. The first is friendship for gain. We befriend a colleague because they help us with reports, or a neighbor because they lend us tools. This is useful, but such friendship is fragile — as soon as the gain disappears, the connection does too.The second type is friendship for pleasure. We befriend those with whom we have fun: companions, travel companions, tennis partners. This is pleasant, but also temporary. Change hobbies or move — and the person is forgotten.The third, the highest type, is friendship for virtue. This is when people value each other not for something, but in spite of everything. They wish each other well not out of greed, but out of love. Such friendship is rare, but it is this, according to Aristotle, that is true happiness. Because in it we realize ourselves as human beings capable of selfless attachment.Modern psychologists confirm that only the third type of friendship brings long-term satisfaction. Selfish connections leave a void, and connections based on interests quickly become boring. But true friendship is like wine: the longer, the deeper. And it is directly correlated with the level of happiness.Harvard study: 80 years of observationsThe longest happiness study in history, the Harvard ... Read more