To our friends this new year
So welcome 2007.New years eve was a quiet affair for me. Went to church in the evening. Tried giving my mother her medication. Finally managed to give it to her by secretly adding it into the soup I made for her, though she didnt finish it. After that, went to my friends place to watch the fireworks from the balcony.
At 12.00a.m. we opened a bottle of wine, and the four of us drank while chatting for an hour or so, and here I am writing my first post of the new year when I should really be sleeping.
Maybe its the alcohol getting to me. I suddenly feel the urge to say something really profound, but really the alcohol just seems to make everything just a blurry high. I don't know if you ever knew, but I'm not quite a drinker. In fact, I'm a lousy drinker. I drank like 2 cups of wine, and the entire upper half of my body was tomato red, and I get into this elevated mood, laughing at the slightest thing.
Yup, getting me drunk is a sure way to get me to spill the beans on something or to get me to do something really silly.
Of course, every new year celebration is accompanied by Auld Lang Syne. I didnt really sing it out loud. I just thought of it in my head. Its a song that always make people emotional, me included. It sings of friend new and old, of remembering those who were once a part of our life, who shared in our joy and our pain, our happiness and suffering.
Our friends, the people who laughed when you laughed, cried when you cried, and thankfully, didnt go crazy when you did. It is true that they come and go, and we should never begrudge that fact. The question isn't what role they played in your life, but how well they play the part they were given. Some friends leave an everlasting impact on you, even if your encounter was short and brief. Other friends remain by your side for years on end. Regardless of which it was, friends truly are invaluable. Apart from your family, it is your friends whom you can count on to stand by your side, to lend a shoulder, to offer a hand, to give a hug. Though individually, friends contribute little to our development, taken as a whole, they play a major role. It was a friend who taught me to overcome my fear or roller coasters and to fold paper birds. It was another friend who thought me how to let loose my previously uptight self, another friend who taught me that hugging is never a bad thing. I remember sitting in the park, chatting about love, life and happiness with a good friend long ago, and our bond of friendship just seemed so strong. We talked and talked and talked. At that point in my life, I never talked to anyone more than i did with this person, nor did i ever have a friends so close.
Though today, we are no longer as close as we used to be, I will always cherish those times together. It was meaningful times. Times that have stayed in my mind; a sweet memory of a friendship unexpectedly forged. At times, I reminensce with sadness of those times long gone, wishing that things could somehow be like last time again. But the memory of it reminds me that good friends are worth making. Good friends are worth your time, effort and commitment, because in return they give you so much more. They help you, guide you, tease you, comfort you, scold you, advice you, watch your back, and if you ever miss the last bus home, help is always a call away. Though it may not last forever, that friendship will carry you through those periods in your life. The objective in life is not to make things last forever. Nothing ever does. You do not love a flower any less just because its blossom doesnt last forever. It is meant to be appreciated while it is still there, in the present, while it is before you. Similarly, you do not shun a potentially beautiful friendships just because you know it wont last anyway. Its the wrong approach. A beautiful friendship is one that blossoms to its fullest during its time. It may be just 3 months in camp, it may be 4 years in college. I have known some people for 10 years, and still not count him as much of a friend. The measure of friendship is not how long, but how far.
Should all aquaintence be forgot and never brought to mind? Should all aquaintence be forgot and auld lang syne? For auld lang syne my dear, for auld lang syne. We'll take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne.
Every new year, when we sing Auld Lang Syne, we are essentially paying tribute to our friend. Not one friend in particular, but all our friends. Collectively, they have been a definitive part of our lives in so many ways. What better way to call a close to the year than to remember those who helped us through it? The songs asks not if friends will ever part. It asks should we remember them when we part. As we bring the year to a close, we are reminded that some friendships will also come to a close. It makes us sad, as it always does when good things come to an end. It is a part of life for all things to have a beginning and an end. Yet, it is also in the knowing that it will not last forever that we we begin to grasp just how invaluable some friendships are. In this realisation, we begin to cherish the memories of our friends and the times together from long ago. Hence the title. The words 'Auld Lang Syne' literally translates from old Scottish dialect meaning 'Old Long Ago'
The song never answers the questions it poses, because the answer lies readily in our hearts. And so, when the new year has come, we sing a song for them, we make a toast in their honour and pay tribute to them, keeping them close to our hearts even though they those times were so long ago. For auld lang syne my dear, for auld lang syne. We'll take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne.
Happy 2007 to our friends; they make life bearable, they make life wonderful.
posted by Compulsive Blogger @ 10:43 pm
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