The Dilemma of 'Friends'

IN life, we are bound to meet people who can change our lives. Their presence may not necessarily be for the better, but in some way, it will take you someplace where you hope to be -- or somewhere you wish never existed.

These people may arrive like the wind -- fast, swift. You'd be surprised at how you'd find yourself in their company most of your waking hours; it was as if you were destined to meet and be together, every minute of every day.

However, there would be this nagging feeling, at the back of your head, that tells you that while it was easy for them to enter your life, it would also be easy for them to make an exit. 

Like the wind -- fast, swift.

Logic tells you to pay attention to the warning bells. But do you? You don't, because you have been blinded by their charm, their wit, their humor.

Yes, you tell yourself, this is the person I want to be with, the one who understands. The one who knows how to cheer me up, how to brighten my day.

Logic: Stop, trouble, pain. 

You: Go, happiness, bliss.

Life is cruel, that's a given. One minute, you're ecstatic that everything is happening to your liking. The next minute, you're wishing the ground would open up and swallow you whole. 

These people may be your friends, colleagues, even lovers. But they could as well be your enemies, competitors, foes. Surely, all the signs are there, but you refuse to accept that you've been duped.

Nowadays, it's hard to meet real people. Gone are the days when you get to meet people face-to-face, shake their hands and look them in the eyes as you make small talk.

Now, you just go to a social networking site, and voila! Instant friends, even though you've met them only through a friend of a friend of a friend -- a "friend request" the mere key to a treasure-trove of "friends".

Do you even have anything in common with your "friends"? Oooops, your bad: "Vader", whom you met through a dating site, is into S&M and bondage. Thinking it would tarnish your good reputation, you find yourself blocking your "newfound" friend.

With all the technological distractions muddling your senses, you can't distinguish anymore between friends, close friends, classmates, acquaintances, colleagues. Everyone is simply a "friend".

Food for thought: Is that someone you just added to your friends' list really a friend? You'd like to believe that, but the truth is, you just don't know, do you? 

Are you someplace you hope to be? Or are you somewhere you wish never existed?