One of the reasons why introverts exist is because they believe in having few people in their lives they can always count on, than to have a large circle of people who don’t really mean anything to them. These introverts don’t hate people, they just hate shallow socializing. I’m not an introvert. I’m not an extrovert either. I’m just somewhere in the middle.
“Medicine, law,business,engineering: these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, friendships, romance and love…these are what we stay alive for” – Dead Poets society
Over the years, I have started developing random thoughts when I’m all by myself. Thoughts like, what is the purpose of our existence? What is the benefit of all the advanced technologies we are having today? What do we really need to live a stable life? While I can’t answer all of them, I do know the answer to the 3rd question. To live a stable peaceful life, we need to stay away from bullshit. That stabilized pill can come in the form of family, job, skills, or friends, especially friends, because they are the ones who can make or break your youth (Spouses can do that too, but they arrive later). And I sincerely believe that everyone of us, no matter who we are, where we are, should have at least 2 to 3 people with us who for all the good reasons become a part of our existence. Fortunately I have few such people in my life, who by society norms are called “Friends”, but for me, they are more like family.
Like almost every other bond of friendship, we started our story by being acquaintances to each other, which developed at a slow and steady pace. We went through different stages which included preparing for college midterms, dating women for the first time, bunking lectures to see a first-day-first-show movie, etc. We did all this and we did it together. The core of our friendship developed from experiences, and probably hardships. We all have changed over the years, probably not the same identities we used to have. Most people (including me) do not change when you give them an option. They change when there is no option. But we’re still together, and that’s what matters. We did however make one small pact in college : To go to Vegas. That trip with a few other stops, happened a few weeks ago. I am not gonna go towards the details about what we did and how much money we won (Haha!) But we were happy throughout. Even though we did two 12+ hours road trips, we weren’t really tired because we were in each other’s company. It’s all about those chemicals reacting inside our body. Our heart and mind works better when we are at absolute tranquility, and I am mostly at peace when I’m with these guys.
The purpose of this blog isn’t really to target the specific story of me and my friends. It’s rather inclined towards that one part of our lives which has the potential to give us immense satisfaction and keep us in complete harmony. No matter how busy your life gets, how much you get involved in your corporate/professional/academic world, you can (and should) always make time for people who really matter to you. Remember, no one is really busy, it’s all about priorities. I do it to maintain an equilibrium in my life, and I’m sure you do it for similar reasons.
Great friendships are made up of people who are willing to get their hands dirty (as long as it’s for a good cause) and pick each other up. This is as true with development as it is with pretty much any other type of bond.
In the end what matters is that you’re happy, because if you aren’t then there is really no point of doing what you do. This is not my best piece, not even close. And I don’t really care. What really matters is I wrote and shaped up this blog exactly the way I wanted, and I am content with that.
On a closing note, here’s something which was useful for me and can be useful for you:
Happiness is a state of mind, not a destination – Looking back on my life, the most unhappiest moments of my life occurred when I always thought I had to achieve a certain goal to be happy. That’s not the way happiness works. You can be happy right now.
