Friendships, I have found, are like bridges that we build, sometimes unknowingly, to cross angry waters and stormy seas, or sometimes just trepid pools of collected rainwater. As a species, we are born to befriend and socialize, but also to fight and hurt. But whatever the case may be, I think that at the very core, every human life is about relationships and social associations that we are made/meant to make and break. I saw a rather forgettable movie a few years ago that blew out this one solid dialogue that stood out amidst the entire debacle that unfolded on screen-"we are born to reproduce our kind and propagate the species". For a while after I exited the theatre, I considered this theory. So what if it escaped the mouth of a man considered nationally as a moron, it carried a twisted undeniable logic. The question loomed before me-did I want to accept and acknowledge this theory and believe that I was sent here simply to procreate my kind, and fade away slowly from a bed to a grave?
Over the next few days, I forced the thought out of my mind and forgot about it completely until my encounter with a book by Dr. Brian Weiss called Many Lives, Many Masters. The book talked about several things which changed the way I think about life, among which was the one theory that humans are sent to this realm by the Creator to meet each other, to learn from life, and to ultimately teach our friends and relatives and even strangers about the lessons we've learnt so far. I believe that no school, no college, no university can teach you more than what a friendship will.
You'll learn about acceptance of your own flaws and those of others, appreciation, courage, sharing, affection, loneliness, loss, rebuke, generosity, compassion, empathy, anger, forgiveness, and of course love. And this is just the tip of the iceberg that lays beneath this giant ocean that we're aiming to cross here that you might like to call life, with a friend by your side and a margherita in your hand. I am yet to come across a college that gives courses on all of the above concurrently, and that too at break-neck speed.
I started this diatribe with an analogy I drew between friendships and bridges.
And you know how bridges can sometimes fall prey to oxidative reactions our atmosphere surreptitiously conducts, rust, and fade away to brown dust. Friendships fade away too. Sometimes the bridge might not rust away entirely and merely lose that sparkly shine it once bore. You might look at it and wonder what went wrong and how a perfectly balanced equation turned unstable.
But whatever it might be, every friendship carries you a step closer to a mysterious goal that God has set aside for you. Every friendship is a bridge that's taking you closer to your calling. Even if it fades away, even if it has disappeared, it's still carried you on it's shoulders on many tumultuous nights as well as several sunny mornings. Never allow yourself to discount the value of this association. Doing that is tantamount to disrespect aimed at your own life's journey. Some stories end, some go on, but as long as they leave you stimulated and feeling alive, the stories are worth the reading.
Over the next few days, I forced the thought out of my mind and forgot about it completely until my encounter with a book by Dr. Brian Weiss called Many Lives, Many Masters. The book talked about several things which changed the way I think about life, among which was the one theory that humans are sent to this realm by the Creator to meet each other, to learn from life, and to ultimately teach our friends and relatives and even strangers about the lessons we've learnt so far. I believe that no school, no college, no university can teach you more than what a friendship will.
You'll learn about acceptance of your own flaws and those of others, appreciation, courage, sharing, affection, loneliness, loss, rebuke, generosity, compassion, empathy, anger, forgiveness, and of course love. And this is just the tip of the iceberg that lays beneath this giant ocean that we're aiming to cross here that you might like to call life, with a friend by your side and a margherita in your hand. I am yet to come across a college that gives courses on all of the above concurrently, and that too at break-neck speed.
I started this diatribe with an analogy I drew between friendships and bridges.
And you know how bridges can sometimes fall prey to oxidative reactions our atmosphere surreptitiously conducts, rust, and fade away to brown dust. Friendships fade away too. Sometimes the bridge might not rust away entirely and merely lose that sparkly shine it once bore. You might look at it and wonder what went wrong and how a perfectly balanced equation turned unstable.
But whatever it might be, every friendship carries you a step closer to a mysterious goal that God has set aside for you. Every friendship is a bridge that's taking you closer to your calling. Even if it fades away, even if it has disappeared, it's still carried you on it's shoulders on many tumultuous nights as well as several sunny mornings. Never allow yourself to discount the value of this association. Doing that is tantamount to disrespect aimed at your own life's journey. Some stories end, some go on, but as long as they leave you stimulated and feeling alive, the stories are worth the reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment