JUST WALK BESIDE ME AND BE MY FRIEND








Elbert Hubbard (who wrote the inspiring essay, ‘A Message to Garcia’) once said:

“Never explain - your friends do not need it
and your enemies will not believe you anyway.”

As the world celebrates Friendship Day, today, I have received ‘Happy Friendship Day’ wishes from all kinds of people, men and women, young, old and little ones, total strangers and even a few ‘rascals’…(Let’s call them my enemies)… Yes, I have received wishes from all but some of my best friends. Ditto, the other way round, too: I have sent messages to many except my long-standing besties…

My best friends do not need to be reminded about our friendship… We simply are!

As Elbert Hubbard said, one of the surest indicators of fine friendship is when there is no need for explanation in our friendship – when our friends simply do not need it. The moment we have to explain endlessly, everything every time, it is the clear sign of distrust… If we are friends caught up with such a need, it is bad friendship.

When the need to seek explanation from each other in friendship increases, we pave way for enmity… And, as Elbert Hubbard concludes in his statement, our enemies don’t believe us anyway. So, it is futile to explain to our enemies. Trust is lost!

Besides trust, another amazing thing about fine friendship is the treatment of equality. True friends are always equals… As French philosopher, Albert Camus, described with poetic beauty:

“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead.
Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.”

It is almost midnight. Still, wish you a Happy Friendship Day.


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Aparna Deshmukh


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...