Random Thoughts

With all this talk about a recession of US economy in the air, it seems like a good time to draw some parallels between economy and friendship. Even though the word “recession” is mostly used in connection with economy, Encarta states that it is “the process of going back or becoming more distant”. US economy is designed to expect a recession once every few years. A recession is meant to be a time when people get a reality check. It is the reminder that “there is a valley for every mountain”. When the economy is normally moving up, everyone is happy and start taking things for granted. We start losing our senses and finally one fine morning, we hit the peak and start the descent when we are not expecting it. Same holds true with friendships. When people get close to each other, there is always a clip-off of the senses and they like to believe that everything will remain colorful for ever. And then, one day, the reality check appears in the form of a bump around the corner. Just as in the case of the economy, a recession could actually be a healthy bump for a friendship. It jolts you awake. For some, the friendship might not have meant anything in the first place, and so it is an opportunity to get out of the meaningless friendship and start looking beyond it. For sensible people in meaningful friendships, it is an opportunity to do their self-audits and review their portfolios and make sensible planning for the future. It works a lot like a recession in economy – if the friendship survives the recession, it actually grows further and gets more meaningful. Most successful, beautiful friendships have gone through many recessions and seasoned well..... like good wine!