He who finds a friend finds a treasure

While browsing a video store in days bygone I came across a movie entitled, ’He who finds a friend finds a treasure. How true rang those words! All of us traverse this journey of life searching like that lady with the lamp for someone special.

Yet few really find such a priceless friend. And those who do so are blessed for million, billion, nay, quadrillion lives. With Friendship Day just behind us , I consider myself among the
blessed few , with good friends way back from as long ago as Grade 1 upwards till date.

I have managed to nurture these friendships even as I weathered life’s turbulent, wind-wavered oceans with these constant friends. Like a lighthouse guiding me onwards, these good friends of mine have stayed true to me through thick and thin, through troughs and crests reminding me all too much of that quote by
Euripides, “One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.”

Even as we ruminate over this topic one would be wise to be aware of the ways of the world in knowing the true depth of a real friendship. Real friendship stands the test of time come wind, come sun, come rain. And a true friend loves you for who you really are. In the words of Elbert Hubbard,‘’A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you…’’.Yes, even as age makes its presence felt upon you ,your true friends are unfazed by the sight of wrinkles ,grey hair, or a visage pockmarked like the moon!

An additional point to remember even as we embark upon this journey of loving and living is that it is a long maybe even eternal process requiring much nurturing. Even as we cater to the needs of the universe without we need to focus on the Self that dwells within. At this point we need to remember that there is no quick fix solution to loving and being loved in return. Perhaps this saying puts it across all too pithily,’’ If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it is yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.’’

That perhaps sums up the long and short of any rocksteady relationship. In the end what Audrey Hepburn
says has a ring of truth to it, “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise,
walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”