Two and a half decades ago I shook hands with a friend and declared that we were best friends. Teenagers then, the whole idea was to claim exclusivity over each other’s time, gossip and have a ready shoulder to cry on. The term BFF or Best Friends Forever wasn’t coined till then (if it was, I didn’t know about it!). There was no pressure to keep our word but years, different careers, marriage and kids later we’re still going strong!
At a time when I see relationships crumbling around me, forever sounds ambitious. Romantic liaisons, friendships and even marriages border on convenience with minimal work and effort on making the relationship work. Yet, the frequency with which forever is splashed everywhere makes me wonder. Do we fool ourselves with such words or do they really contribute in breathing life into a dying relationship?
Imagine telling a woman in a bad marriage that she’s bound to her husband for seven lives. She’ll probably use all her pent up frustration to rip you apart for wishing her ill. Same is with friends and relatives we put up with, with or without choice. Care or concern might’ve existed at some point but no one wants to carry it out as a burden when the emotion’s dried up. Would we want a forever with them or will we want an option to bow out if things get intolerably testy?
I’ve gone through heartbreaks, been repeatedly back-stabbed by friends and taken for a ride by people I genuinely cared for. Maturity and a newfound self-love however have taught me what countless hurt accounts in my diaries couldn’t. Toxicity, much like happiness, will not always remain in our lives. Isn’t it something to be happy about?
Forever sounds comforting but is nothing more than a poetic expression. God didn’t put us in the driver seat and give us control of our own lives for a reason. Forever gives us hope, yes, but the realisation that circumstance and death cannot be influenced makes us humble too. Why aim for it when we can have a blissful today and a delightfully well-earned tomorrow? Aren’t they enough?
Do you agree with me? What are your thoughts? Please share them with me.
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Well said varsha.. I don’t know why we need a for we when we are much happier in the now.. Relationships change and so do people.. I think it’s wrong of us to bind people
‘Never say never and you can’t say forever’, is something I believe in and quote often, Varsha.
You’ve beautifully enunciated how hollow a word forever is, despite which it weighs us down with the expectation it carries.
Glad to find the old Varsha in these words, please write more often.
आने वाला पल जाने वाला है………जिंदगी के सफर में गुजर जाते है जो मकाम वोह फिर नही आते……जीवन जिथे क्षणभंगूर तिथे Forever काय असू शकत?
Nothings stays forever, yet human search for things/bonds that last for long. Well Said, Varsha.
Hey you have so beautifully expressed your thoughts on this word forever, and yes we often just take it for granted.
I always believe.. Nothing lasts for ever.. Everything is just temporary..
Kim Paradise – MumFLIX
Varsha I read your post twice. Really could relate to your thoughts and ideas. Forever is far fetched and unending.
I agree with you! The term forever when used in relationships it kinds of brings pressure to make the relationship survive.
The word forever does sound comforting but as they say nothing lasts forever. Wish we humans have this ability to accept this truth.
recently happen with me , sad for a week. friend use to say we are friends forever but in 2 month . she move on to another friend with same forever tag.
I totally agree with you on this , we should not bound relationship for forever.. every thing needs changes
I could feel deep what you felt buddy and it forced me to think and nod in agreement to you mostly
No one can hold on to things, feelings or beings forever, because we don’t need forever to complete us. Excellent write up!
Such lovely play of words. I loved reading it. People use this word forever for everything
forever probably is everyone’s wish but then its like a societal pressure!
Nothing last forever but we humans always rush towards the word forever .. Very nicely written varsha.
I so agree with you that this word is more a poetic expression. However, at times this word is comforting too when two people are bonded by love and affection.
Yes i agree we should cherish present moments rather than thinking about forever. Nothing lasts forever so live in present.
Friendship is the most precious word in my life. I have friends and I mean it. Like they are my real friends. Since class eight, I have my bf and we still connected. And we have a strane telepathy.