Immediately upon hearing these words, my brain shifts into overdrive, while the person whom I am speaking with is still talking. I’m listening...yet, I’m not really listening. I’m already thinking about who this friend of a friend might be, and do I know them.
It’s not gossip. Of course not! We, that is, I, like to think of it as “sharing.” Okay ... it’s gossip.
According to Wikipedia:
“Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing (unproven) facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted.”
So, I was right, kind of ... it is sharing.
As I was saying, or the friend was saying about the friend of a friend ... as it turns out, I did know my friend’s friend, as well as the friend of the friend’s ... who woulda guessed. It was me! I was about to gossip about myself, but as luck would have it, my friend really did turn out to be a true friend ... because, she “shared” something with me that I was reluctant to acknowledge about myself, and although my feelings were hurt at first and I really did feel like smacking her upside the head ... I chose to take it like a woman and hear her out. I’m glad I did.
So, whenever you’re anxious to “share” something with a friend, or anybody for that matter ... make sure it helps them out. Otherwise, keep it to yourself!
