Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend." Friendship is an odd thing, most of the time you do not meet a person and think, one day they will be my best friend. Generally friendship forms without us really noticing its growth, and can begin in even the most unlikely of circumstances. Friendships are a privilege; to be able to share your happiness, burdens, beliefs, and just yourself with another is one of the greatest blessings that is granted to us in this world. In life I have come to find, through my own personal experience and those of others, that deep human connections go beyond the tests of the physical world.
The novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini follows the lives of friends Mariam and Laila. The two started out as enemies, battling for a place in their shared home, but slowly grew together as the joined forces to merely survive life with their authoritarian husband. They laughed together, wept together, endured together, and ultimately escaped their life of oppression together, but not without price. Mariam not only took the initial action that brought about their freedom, but ultimately bought Laila's freedom in life with her own. Mariam murdered their husband to save her best friend's life, and died so that she might be free. That, however, does not mean that their connection ended when her life did. Even after death Laila sees Mariam in the daily life around her, like the way her daughter faithfully performs the prayers that Mariam once taught her. Mariam's sacrifice of love permeates Laila's entire life; every moment of happiness and contentment is tied to Laila's love and gratefulness for her best friend, whose influence has never left her, even in death.
I have experienced something similar in my own life, though my friend did not die, she did move away which, at the time, I thought was the worst thing that could possibly happen. I have found, however, that this trial of being in very separate physical locations has strengthened our friendship more than anything else ever has. Now that she is not around me daily I miss her greatly, but I am much more appreciative of who she is as a person and of our friendship. I am blessed enough to still be able to keep in contact with her through technology, but I still feel her presence with me in daily life. I am reminded of her by little things, and can feel the influence of the things she has taught me in my day-to-day decisions. I feel her love even though she is not physically close to me, and that is the beauty of deep human connections.
In my opinion people need to not take their relationships for granted. We have loved ones in our lives and often do not think twice about what a blessing they are to us. Everyone should evaluate the connections they have with people and realize how valuable they are to our lives because they might not always be close to them in the same way as they are now. Thankfully we carry others with us through our emotions, beliefs, and memories, so even when they are gone, they really aren't.
:-)- Good.
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