Resolutions and Friends: 2008

Too late in writing this but I'm just penning down what I decided at the beginning of 2008. At the dawn of each new year people ask me " So , what's your resolution for the new year", and every time I come up with with something which I think would not matter if I was not able to achieve. Just to satisfy my ego I would put in an initial effort at following it, but would eventually give up within a month or two. I always wondered what was so special about resolutions but never really felt connected with any resolution I'd ever taken in my life. So here comes another one, and this time I sincerely hope I will be able to stick to it.

My resolution for 2008 is to catch up with friends, family members and even those who I once felt were my enemies. Making friends is not hard and nor is ending your friendship, but the hardest job is to maintain a cordial relationship in the face of all situations. I've made a lot of friends and ended a lot of relationships, and in each case I have done that just to satisfy my ego. Maintaining relationships is about understanding the other person's point of view. Whether its agreeable to you or not, one has to be a good listener. Difference in opinions are a part and parcel of every relationship and one mustn't stretch them to a point where even looking at each other gets irritable.

There is always a commonality between you and your friends, no matter how different your opinions, at times, may be. Thats the reason you were friends with him or her in the first place. I always categorize people into friends and acquaintances. Not every person you know at school or work or in your neighborhood is a friend. A person you study with at school need not be a friend nor is a person from work who visits you at home occasionally. There is a fine distinction between being a friend and an acquaintance. As the saying goes " A friend need not be the one who comes and bails you out for something wrong you did, but the one who is with you in doing it, surely is."

Anyways, getting back to my main point about mending broken relationships. I've had a few relationships that ended, at least in the past 2-3 years, be it colleagues at school or roommates or old friends. My aim for this year is to re-establish contact with those friends and apologize or forgive each one for the differences that came up in the past. Life is too short to let differences linger. Lets hope I go through with it this time. This is the one time I really want to fulfill my resolution and prove to myself that my ego is not the only thing I can fulfill.