It is a great feeling to be around people who value you. Who appreciate and accept you for what you are and not for what you ought to be. Who, you know, won’t judge you for your shortcomings. They would rather let you be as you are, considering all your tantrums an occupational hazard of being around you.

When I was growing up my mom used to tell me that there are people who are destined to come close to us. There is no rhyme or reason why, of the thousand people we interact with in our lives, a few become so special that we have difficulty imagining our lives without them. When I used to listen to her, I used to wonder if I would ever get close enough to anyone. But as it happens, I do have a set of people I have grown really fond of. And now, when I think of them, it seems wierd to note that all of them are extremely different as individuals. Yet all of them are so much like me. In fact, I can see a little bit of me in all of them. And that’s probably why I love them. Coz after all, in the whole wide world, the one person all of us love unconditionally, is our self.

It is when we see oursleves in others, in the way they were brought up, in the way they approach a problem or even in the way they like or dislike things, it is when we are able to see our reflections in them in the smallest of ways that we start developing fondness for them. For example, I have this very special friend who can actually complete my sentences when we are together solving a problem or discussing a situation. Sometimes it seems wierd how we think exactly alike. Then there is this one guy who was brought up in the same circumstances in his late childhood as me and so he developed his beliefs on the basics of life that are exact replica of mine. Then there is this very special friend, who just happened to become an aquaintance and then over the past 9 years we have almost grown together as individuals. We have common experiences, common tastes in books, common likes and dislikes of things and, most importantly a common outlook towards life. There are ways in which I differ from each one of them, but then they are all willing to either ignore or appreciate those differences, which works for me!

While preparing for an interview, a guide said to me that if you want to introspect and find out about yourself, the best thing to do is to observe the people closest to you. I think that is because all of us are the least common denominator of our friends. Over time I have used this method extensively to not only read myself, but also others around me. And it works!

I have also learnt that aside from all the similarities we share with our friends, there are always some idiosyncracies in each one of us that make us all human. The best way to deal with them is to accept the person as they are. After all, the best way to grow is to learn to recieve. For instance, the first person I talked about earlier has a temper of a volcano. The second one eats like there no tomorrow. Not only eating, he is extremely passionate about just everything, which puts him in interesting situations at times. And the third guy up there is just a little eccentric. You will figure out how if you meet him.

In fact, coming to think of it, all of them are a little eccentric. Just the way I am. And that’s one of the reasons why I love them J