True Friendship

'Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.'

Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh are the most unlikeliest of examples anyone will take to define friendship. The two were the least shown twosome by A.A. Milne in his eponymous stories, unless they were sitting together under a tree and Pooh bear sharing stories about his friends with Robin.

Yet, the two represent a friendship that is a rare example of True Friendship. They were never shown the best friends, doing everything together and sharing the common interest, what with two being two different specie altogether, but when they were together, it felt right in every sense of the word of Friendship.

We didn't realise we were making memories. We just knew were having fun.

I see my friendship with Priya, Akshay and Sahil today and realise that they all are very different than me. And as we grow up, we struggle more and more to find common taste to spend time together. Our individual and group outings get marred by a lot of arguments, choice of other friends, and at times hurtful mudslinging and i know it affects each of us a lot. But somehow, blissfully, either of us have always controlled our ego for the higher cause of friendship.

With time, a sense of mature understanding has come in that I have ruined a lot of our past together by expecting it to become nothing less than a time with my Best Friend(s), when in reality, this term of Best Friend is by itself undefined. How do you really define any superlative? Friendship is a feeling and not a materialistic reality that can be compared in give and take. It can only be True and I have finally realised the only possible right thing is to nurture the plant of my friendships in my life and time.

Not all my friends can be friends with each other, least be true friend. There will always be pity possessiveness, there will also be unrational stupid demands for time but it is for me to realise what I value more - My ego by letting go of the friends who may be diametrically different from me but give me a sense of belonging unlike anything I have felt or True Friendship where I can fearlessly be myself, in all my imperfections, and still grow into a better person or everything else.

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.