FRIENDSHIP

 


We are all aspiring to form friendships from a young age, to experience the special moment of 'oh yeah, you get me' as kindred souls meet, cautiously at first then instinctively cementing a life-long friendship. It is indeed a blessing to have even one friend at two o'clock in the morning, to call without fear of interruption in moments of need, fear, sorrow or even celebration.


The question of friends has been on my mind this week as her birthday was celebrated by a beloved and very close friend. The nostalgic and poignant quotes struck a chord with me as I bombarded her email with birthday messages, some posted here today.

Only our true friends know us to the heart, to the inner concerns, to the movies and to the books that carry us to the laughter of tears. Only young, lifelong friends know the 'all' us, school activities, adolescence, teenage years that are so instrumental in shaping today's individual. Only with them do you recall the broken hearts of young love, the ruptures of friendship that cut so deeply, the scars still raw.


A cloak descends upon us as we leave what is hopefully the sanctuary of home, for better or worse. We're not able to help! A smile will be plastered over our faces in the midst of desperation as we greet others in the street, at work. An email full of your real feelings will be sent in a snatched lunch hour and soon the ping of response from a good friend brings calming warmth and encouragement.


Friendships take many forms, and when you're young you think friendship is one between peers alone. When you remember how short-sighted, how young you were, and a close bond strikes between your parents and your more mature self, the feeling of joy is overwhelming. When your grandparents grow closer warmth and care, you later become conscious that the comfort of friendship is not only found in platonic relationships, but also in loving ones. Hitting the jackpot sure looks like this!


Like marriages, friendships take effort, even hard work! There can be break-ups like marriages, major ones reverberating around a wide community of people, as the earth changes, old friendships collapse, new ones are created. It is amazing how one can sense the other issues, call just at the right time, how easy it is to slot back into relaxed chat after a three-year hiatus apart and pick up the conversation as if from the day before. Unlike most relationships, friendships can be maintained for months, even years, with only remote contact.

Without the continuous presence of mates, the journey of life, with its peaks of happiness and lows of loss and pain, will be unbearable-the joint expedition easing the burden, doubling the joy.




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