What is the best gift we can offer to a friend in need?

Many of us like to think of ourselves as thoughtful and caring when it comes to our friends, but it is not uncommon for us to misjudge our abilities of friendship. We assume that we have their best interests at heart, but we’re actually thinking more of ourselves, or maybe we are just plain selfish when there was no need to be.

There is a tendency to assume that someone we care about will appreciate a gesture just because it exists, or just because we made it. In reality, things do not always work out that way. If a person is experiencing something difficult and they receive something unwanted, they may not give the gift-giver the reaction that they were hoping for. At worst, this thing that they put effort into will just be seen as an inconvenience, something that distracts from the more important priority of dealing with whatever it is that they are going through. While being thought about should be a nice and wholesome experience, it doesn’t always work out that way. In fact, it can end up bringing added tension into relationships if you are not careful.