Saturday, March 10, 2007

Associative Nostalgia : Circle of Life...

This post is inspired by one of the most brilliant views on the circle of life (a view so generously shared with me, by one of my friends). Hence, this post is rightfully dedicated to that friend. This is further dedicated to all the people in my circle of life (of the past, the present and the future), "May the force be with you all and may all your dreams come true".

A shocking inclusion under the category, "Associative Nostalgia", right? The circle of life follows the Principle of Conservation of Life. It can be looked upon as a renewable source of energy, wherein people come and go. There is thankfully, that continuous replenishment, that helps one move on in life. A heavily dynamic reservoir; and two old friends meeting after a long time, is akin, to two small streams gushing to meet each other.

A classic example is the case of your childhood friends. Life revolved around them, and life without them seemed impossible. But then, now, how many of us would be in touch with the best friends of our childhood? When, winning a match or a competition, learning to ride a bicycle, or going to an exhibition or a book-fair, seemed to be so much more enjoyable because of them. When birthdays of ours and theirs were intricately woven moments of great joy!

From then on, the friends from our schools, colleges, universities, etc. The advantage of a hostel-based college environment is the numerous friendships that develop because of the constrained setting. A time, when most adolescents, would be venturing out into the world to start their chosen way of life and a time, when emotions, infatuations, curiosities, discoveries, etc. seem universal and a rightful means of bonding. When friendships begin to blossom, when we have all beautifully converged, we are all violently thrown apart, courtesy the differing paths we happen to chose.

But then, life has to move on. Each stage in life leads you to the phase, where everything familiar has disappeared, and you need to start afresh. As the last strip of C&H poignantly says, "A new magical world full of new possibilities to explore" emerges. An exception would be those rare relationships/friendships that continue to blossom despite the physical distances. Blessed are such relationships. But then, when old friends meet, the bonding remains. The past and the associative nostalgic feelings related therein, fortunately or unfortunately, remain.

Thus, it can be summarized as follows. People, come and go. We interact with a lot of them, so as to recognize the right ones that come along. At times, people come into our lives in the most unexpected manners, when we least expect them. Each person graces our life with a purpose - to provide a lesson or two and help us in our journey.

A journey where we are all meandering rivers in search of the sea.
A journey where we might take difficult or easy paths to reach the sea.
A journey where we would encounter various obstacles and difficulties.
A journey where "even the weariest river, ends up in the sea".