Epicurus on Friendship
How an old friend and a new philosophy came into conflict.
A good friend of mine, who shall remain nameless of course, I refer to as the life coach, as he has grown very interested in self-help and motivational strategies.
The strategies are predominantly focused on business and investing, as that is the world he is immersed in, but many of the skills can be extrapolated and altered to suit any area of self-improvement.
While lunching together one afternoon during the summer, my nickname for him became more than a wry joke.
As we sat and ate, conversation flowing, his usual guru-like manner evident, a man dining alone across from us politely interrupted and said to my friend, “Excuse me, are you a life coach?”
I died laughing. Once my laughter had subsided, I told the man I referred to my friend as the life coach. His eyes lit up. He had a number of business ideas he wanted to run my friend, who took his contact details. They proceeded to chat amiably for some time, while I hankered down upon the falafel before me.
The man eventually apologised for intruding but I had no qualm. The life coach had found a new potential client, so who was I to stand in the way?
