WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN...

 

“Who is my best friend?”

Last night, this question kept haunting me over and over again. And, in the process, I found myself quite disturbed. Not because, I did not have many good friends… There are.

The disturbance was essentially linked to this thought: “Would I stand by my friend, when the chips are down for him?”

I really felt scared to think too deep into this question… “Would I be with my friend, when the times are difficult for him?”

Would I?

No one else could answer this question for me…

Yes, in my life, there have been some friends, who have stood by me when my own chips were down… Most of the times, it is the moral support that matters in such times… Some patient listening, some timely, sane advice, some re-assurance, that, things would be normal soon… That I can count on them any time…

And, yes, I too have stood by some of my own friends when times were tough for them… and, yes, most of the times, my being there for them with my patient listening, kind and re-assuring words and the genuine promise that I would be there for them any time… Yes, most of the times, only such subtle, well-meant, gestures from my end were enough to claim that I was a good friend.

In life, we need some good, very genuine friends… and happily most of us do have our own. When I look back at some of my own good friends, and reflect on how we became good friends, it really surprises me. It was not money, status or fame or any such glittering stuff that made us bond… it was just that we had valued some fine things in each other and felt extremely comfortable to express our joys and sorrows. And, each-other’s ups and downs in life did concern us… We rejoiced and cried in each-other’s success and failures in life.

No, we never deserted when chips were down, unlike rats jumping off a sinking ship!

No, we have never been the proverbial ‘fair-weather friends’!

Last night, 

when these feelings surged through my heart, 

I felt blessed and humbled 

at this Life’s privilege… 

But, I also shuddered, deep down in my heart, when the question kept haunting me:

“Would I be by my friend, when the chips are down for him?”

GERALD D’CUNHA  

Pics.: Ronald Fernades