Thursday, November 08, 2007

Had this random thought. Which of our friends will be with us when we are 80 years old? Things are so unpredictable and uncertain.

Just a few years in Church, I have witness friends leaving and people behaving like stranger. I have also personally heard of friends who are once so close whom now chose to distant themselves. I guess everything will have an expiry date.

I value true brotherhood a lot. To me, a friend is more valuable than any gem in this world. Proverbs 17:17 is what I hold dear. Maybe is because of the environment which I am being brought up. During my primary school days, my classmate was like blood brother to me. We go out together, play together, eat together and spend every Saturdays together. Maybe when we are young, there are less worries in our mind. We are more innocent and naive. We go through thick and thin together without any reservations. Until now, our friendship is still very strong.

Nowadays, people just treat friendship too lightly. There are only friendship when either of the parties tend to from it. Or some people just enjoy the moment making friends but not able to keep them close. Just look at the list on our friendster account. How many among the 100s do you really know? I don't mean just their name or where you two met, although these are the basic requirements. I am referring to knowing their entire person, what they like or hate or what what is their character. How can you call someone your friend and not know anything more than his/her name? I am not asking you all to start deleting those in your friendster whom you don't think you know.

Just imagine 10 years down the road. Who among those friends around you do you think will last until then? Maybe 20 years down the road if you think 10 is too short. Maybe it is just the reality that is happening and no one is to blame. Internet is just too rampant that we do not need a friend. We can just have the company of the computer and neglect what is happening outside. Just take a look at how people doll up their computers. They treat it like a human and let it wear up to date costumes. Be it Gothic, diamond laid, doraemon, hello kitty, or whatever it may be. They treat this square box better than the friends around them.

It is easy to make a friend, but it is a challenge to make sure it last. The effort in keeping a friend is more taxing than the effort in maintaining a relation. Just for the record, I am not in any relationship now, but that doesn't mean that I don't know any thing about it. To me, I only hope for good friendship now. Relationships will come later when I have more freedom of time. There is a saying that goes "friends are like limbs, girlfriends are but clothes."

Time will tell which of your friend will accompany you through all the years. I rather you tell me frankly that we are just hi-bye friend that to waste time to act every time we meet. It is just so tiring to do so if you get what I mean. What ever the case may be, it is always better to know earlier that to know when it is at its terminal stage. As like cancer, it is better to know that you have it earlier than later. Then you can have it removed and save any resources that will be wasted if not. Economic efficiency is the game.

I want to end off this post by this: Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years. Richard bach