Friendship is a noble thing; of friendship it is good to sing...

Friendship is a very beautiful and precious blessing of life. It is life’s sweetness. It is the chain of love, pleasure, selflessness that binds people together, unites them and keeps them so in every walk of life. Friendships happen despite differences in age, nationality, color of the skin, sex, caste or creed. Friendship is universal and all-embracing in essence.

It is a bridge that leads to a garden of perennial flowers – happiness, companionship, pleasure, affection, gladness, warmth and love. Terrific and some very rare qualities! They are the emeralds, the diamonds and the priceless pearls of that invaluable jewel – friendship.

We do not find many in possession of this ornament. What passes off as friendship is its caricature. So called friendships are not true and noble. Very often they are based on mere nothingness, so to say, and are a blot on the real thing. It is usually the outer grandeur of a person that attracts those who want to shine in reflected glory. The basis of such a relationship is something that glitters without being gold.

Friendship is a term used as loosely as love and so has been shorn of its true essence. Genuine friendship is the harmony of divinity and humanity. Spiced with good will and caring it does not flatter, does not abet in wrong doing, does not misguide and is never selfish. It is the epitome of trust, understanding and respect between people. It allows the other person to ‘be’ without being judgmental and over bearing; it is compassionate, protective and tender.

Friends journey together, regardless of whether their paths are concretized for easy travel or the terrain is challenging and frustrating. A friend’s heart echoes pain when life gives you a thrashing and pulsates with joy at your happiness. A friend is invariably there to help you up again or catch you when you fall. He is a solace in adversity, a pleasure in joy, a comfort in grief, a great companion in silent hours, there for you at every turn in life. He gifts you himself and his time; he is a bulwark of strength when you are beset by the tribulations of life.

The sunshine of a friend’s smile can vaporize all troubles and bring forth blooms of hope and cheer during the gloomiest hour. Such a friend should be treasured with gratitude and celebrated with rejoicing.

“Friendship is a noble thing,

Of friendship it is good to sing”