the true value of friendship

 

friendship is a gift of God... as the saying goes, friends are the siblings God failed to give us... and indeed some of us are blessed with good friends...

but as it happens, not everything is served in a golden plate.. these friendships are taken for granted in some cases and some sadly were not valued.... then it will be too late to realise that you'll never know the value of your friends until they're gone...

me... i am not the perfect friend... before, i was a selfish brat who only looks after myself... not until I learned a very hard lesson on the true value of friendship that it changes me forever...

 

it all started way back in mah college years... i met this guy because we were in the same group of friends before... a friend of my friend of my friend... we dont have anything in common... in fact, he is my complete opposite... and never did I imagine that soon we'll have a very good friendship... then the next thing I knew, he became my bestfriend...

it was not a fairy-tale-happy-ending story because when he changed university we slowly drifted apart... i was so focused with my studies that I took him for granted... not until that fateful date arrived that he shattered part of my life... 

i have a lot of regrets... mistakes I did to him that I cant apologise anymore...

when he left me, he finally opened my eyes to a lot of errors I have done to my friends...

 

now, i am what i am partly because of him... he changed my outlook on how to value my friends... for the reason that he showed me how hurtful it is to lose one... he showed me how to take care of the people whom i value most...

he thought me to be patient... on how to deal with my friends who will pull my strings and hurt my ego along the way... and indeed if they are my friends, I will certainly understand them... it might be one of their flaw that I should learn to accept as part of the friendship package...

next, he shown me how not to be judgmental... no matter how whacky, embarassing, distasteful their true behaviour is... I am not to judge them because this is the type of freedom they can only enjoy with their friends... and i should learn to be as whacky as them too...

then I should share their sorrow and losses... be there anytime, anyday to support them with all their problems and issues... though this sharing may not reduce the impact of loss but it certainly will help to unburden them... indeed this virtue is no small gift of friendship.... 

lastly, he told me that in times of trouble... i should come forward and give my friends encouragement and hope.... an inspiration that will give them afresh... at times when mah friends feel that they are totally devastated and their self-esteem reaches a big low...  I have to rush to help them regain confidence to themselves...

 

aaahhhh, its been 10years since I last saw him... i know he will be proud of me because now I know the value of true friendship and nothing can compare or ever replace the genuine, caring connection between two people who not only understand, but want only the very best of all things in life for each other....

thank you for showing me that the value of friendship is indeed infinite...

that it is priceless... it is a treasure... it is a gift...

 

and now i smile... 

i smile because I live everyday knowing that he will always be a part of me...

 - o 0 o -

 in memory of

 

RIP John David Manlises

Feb 15, 1980 - July 14, 2002

'i miss you brother... i know i'll be seeing you soon...'