No Man Is A Faillure Who Has Friends.

Point to Ponder: “I know people differentiate between “real friends,” and “Facebook friends,” but I don’t. If you are my friend here, it is because you have been part of my amazing adventure. Your love and support, whether I ask for it openly, or not, have helped me celebrate and mourn. Here’s to another safe trip around the sun! Sending love!” – Excerpt from a note from Sharon Johnston to Friends on her birthday.

Story Line: In July 1997, I attended the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People class in the work environment where some people took pride in: Five Habits of “Constructive Confrontative” People. Sharon had seen the great need for this type of training. She was a co-sponsor and also one of the teachers. During those five days, I recognized that we had many similar ideas and values. We have been friends since.

Reflection: I believe in similar views about Friendships as Sharon had expressed in her note on her birthday. I am happy to share significant milestones in my life’s journey with someone I call “A Friend” and I am equally delighted to see or hear about the events and things that are happening in their lives.

There are so many friends from my last place of work who were single when I met them. I got an honor to witness the next phases of their lives; them getting married and then becoming parents. During this year it was so nice to see their little kids, whom I saw in cradle, wearing graduation gowns and then flying off to colleges; while some others are busy preparing for admissions for the next cycle.

With the power of social networks, my good fortune reconnected me with the childhood friends. Many are grandparents now but became a child again while describing their encounters with grandchildren; just like we used to have with one another when we were kids. A friend I had not seen since 10^th grade visited our home. Also I found two school friends to whom my apologies were long overdue. In one case, I convinced him to help carry some plant from a neighbor’s nursery that was leaning in our side of the fence; justification being that the seeds came from our side. When we got caught, he got in much bigger trouble because he was older. And he was just helping. In the other case, a school cricket teammate was bowling(pitching) against the star player from the defending champion team. The star player got fooled by the clever pitch and the ball came flying in my direction. I was not paying attention and dropped the ball. Had I caught it, the course of the game could have changed and resulted in the headlines for the bowler’s mastery. My apologies were accepted with kindness and grace with only a mild laughter and no sermons.

A Young Man out of college that we had hired in our team about 20 years ago and now running his own successful business asked if I would be The Best Man for his wedding. I was touched and felt honored. The Scottish Wedding in Edinburg was a beautiful experience.

The five days reunion with my old teammates(friends) in Oregon was nostalgic and created many more memories. Many friends from university days, my work places since 1975 and once we met during our travels stopped by or kept in contact through modern communication channels.

And the Humble Warrior who hit our car (and was honest to tell us) three years ago has become a close family friend, big supporter of our family ventures/adventures and continues to provide regular feedback and encouragement for Friday Reflections.

Thanks to All of You, Dear Friends, for travelling with me in this journey, sharing your stories and photos, listening to and reading my stories, forgiving my mistakes, and showering your unconditional love.  It’s A Wonderful Life, which coincidently is the topic for the next reflection. With Love and Warm Wishes.

Note: Thanks to Sharon for pointing out an error in the spelling of Failure in the Title of the reflection. Changing it now will disable all the links to the article that is sent out to thousands of readers. So for now, please accept my sincere apology for missing this.

Comments

[Sam]

Thanks Anand for all the genuine love and care you shared with all of us. Your friendship has changed many lives and will continue to do so in the future.

[madhuri]

It is a wonderful Life Indeed! Friends of all shapes, colors, sizes, virtual , and in person- enrich our lives. Fantastic reflection for the end of the year.

Love and Warm wishes to you Dear Anand, and family.

[Anand]

Note: Thanks to Sharon for pointing out an error in the spelling of Failure in the Title of the reflection. Changing it now will disable all the links to the article that is sent out to thousands of readers. So for now, please accept my sincere apology for missing this.

[email note from a good Friend John M.]

Anand,
You do a great job keeping your network live !

Thanks for the walk down memory lane, good to see the old & older faces 😊

To use your phrase “Never drink tea alone !”

Thanks for sharing,

[Humble Warrior]

Salutations My Friend,

Always a pleasure to share and take part in our journeys together ... May you & your family continue to go down many more eventful and fruitful paths ... & Expect our Christmas card soon!

[BHSC]

Once again, a great reflection.. thank you, my friend

All the best

[Micro CEO]

We can easily see a count of how many friends we have in social networks like Facebook, but I'm sure this figure pales in comparison to Anand's complete network of true friends worldwide, which seems to have an infinite quality. Friendship has an unlimited capacity for generating the power of gratitude by conduction, induction, and radiation. I imagine that we all share the same common wish for peace and happiness, wherever we may reside. The more friends we make, the closer we may get to achieving that goal.

Best wishes and happy holidays to Anand and all of his friends.

[Ana Balla]

Happy holidays to everyone! Cheers to all our friends, young and old, close or acquaintance- everyone touches our life in different ways :)

Thank you Anand. You are a blessing to this world!