Posts by George Cox4

Larry Wilson25 said:Ask him—are friends just there for the happy hours and the drinks? Just open up your heart and forget all about giving advice until he actually asks you for it.

Just be ready to listen, and you can’t go wrong. 🙂

edit and PS: usually, people just retreat into themselves and start acting differently when they're trying to make sense of cause and effect... sometimes all it takes is a shoulder to cry on, because let's face it, life throws curveballs without warning—unfortunately, we don't get any warranty cards for this stuff.

If I were your friend, I'd want you to walk a mile in my shoes before we even started talking, and then I'd be willing to share what's on my mind. That's how I handle the important people in my inner circle. If there's an issue, I listen and ask follow-up questions, hoping I really grasp what they're going through. I rarely assume I could do a better job than them while in their skin. Being honest with yourself is the whole prerequisite for being honest with others—otherwise, that outward sincerity is totally useless, kind of like Donald Trump's approach to things.

Should I admit to him that I know exactly what happened, or should I stay quiet and pretend I'm totally in the dark?

He’s a great friend to me, so I truly want to be there for him during these tough times—but at the same time, I don't want him to feel resentful toward me for stepping in!

Larry Wilson25 said:It really all depends on how you heard about it and what kind of mess we’re actually dealing with here.

Honestly, if we were close friends—and I mean *real* friends—I’d much rather you just come to me directly instead of venting about my business to other people who know me.

It isn't even about whether someone is being "honest"—honesty is great and all—but more about the way they choose to deliver the news. 🙂

He’s a very private guy by nature, but it’s obvious this is weighing on him—you can see it in how he's been acting lately.

As for how I found out... well, anyone who picked up the morning paper would have known, but I didn't catch the news until a couple of days later.

And just to be clear, I haven't gone around discussing this with anyone.

He just needs some relief—he needs someone he can actually talk to about this! (To be fair, he didn't do anything wrong himself; it was someone very close to him who caused the trouble.)

I have a close friend who’s clearly struggling with some things—things I’m already aware of—but he hasn't said a word to me about them. Should I pull him aside and let him know I’m in the loop so he can finally open up and "unburden" himself? Or is it better to just stay quiet and respect his space? It really boils down to whether I should be upfront or just hold my tongue.

(By the way, I'm pretty new to this forum—if there's a more appropriate section for this kind of thing, please point me in the right direction!)