Friends Forever

I never thought writing about friendship will be this hard. But I try anyways.

There are some people who made a difference in your life and it doesn’t matter how far apart or how long, there is an unbreakable connection. Because it is imprinted in your memory of the things and times you shared. In this sense, I am blessed with several.

I am fortunate to have a loving family who makes my life easy; so easy that it almost deters me from making an effort to have friends as they will never be as close as my family. Yet it is almost impossible for people not to interact; building friendship is almost a natural process. Trust me. It gets addictive. As you broaden your circle and perspectives, you learn to play the social game. The fun grows as your network grows. And it took me close to twenty years to understand that it is not a competition. Friends will carry you to new heights while you grow with them. Don’t ask me why it took so long for me to get this.

The hardest part of interactions is probably building trust; especially with the super-conservative-protective mindset I have been instilled. Bear in mind, that while I choose to listen, it does not mean that I accept or believe; while I choose to acknowledge, it does not mean that I do not have my own point of view. And I try to never assume of others.

Then maybe one in a hundred so-called friends will impress me with his wit and knowledge as we build a connection. Words lose its importance and are minimal as there is a much deeper mutual understanding at work here. Just a smile, a fleeting hello or a casual call to check on things is enough most of the time. And when there is a need, I will be there just like I know they will do it for me too.

Come to think of it, my best friends were my adversaries at some point. Now we would look back and laugh about the times we gave each other trouble. Its priceless. You know what they say about keeping your friends close and enemies closer, right? The best case scenario would be total elimination of my enemies by turning them into my friends, though I probably missed a few.

So, maybe there is no eternal enemy. But I sure hope there are eternal friends.