Since I did not organize a birthday lunch this year, I was not able
to gather my friends from all those years, mostly from Los Baños, some
are Smart:People, a few from way back in elementary and highschool. I do
have an idealized perception of our friendships, though in reality,
some are deeper than the others. I just would like to quote, like
before, from my favorite saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo as he captures
perfectly what I feel when I spend time with my friends.
We
meet "to talk and laugh together and exchange small acts of kindness;
to read well-written books together. Sometimes to tell jokes and
sometimes to be serious. To disagree at times, but without hard
feelings, just as a man does with himself, and the rare occasions of
dispute were the very spice to season our usual accord. Each of us had
something to learn from the others and something to teach in return. If
any were away, we missed them with regret and gladly welcomed them when
they came home. Such things as these are heartfelt tokens of affection
between friends. They are signs to be read on the face and in the eyes,
spoken by the tongue and displayed in countless acts of kindness. They
can kindle a blaze to melt our hearts and weld them into one. This is
what we cherish in friendship, and we cherish it so dearly that in
conscience we feel guilty if we do not return love for love, asking no
more of our friends than these expressions of goodwill." (from Confessions as quoted in Saint Augustine, Lover of Truth by Policarpo F. Hernandez, OSA)
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