Parting thought

Nah!!! I’m not retiring yet. Not even thought of it. Speaking of thinking, one of my colleagues resigned recently and threw a great party for all of us. One reason was because we don’t know when we’ll get to see each other from now on. A thought slashed across my mind about parting, thus the blog.

We all have been to similar gatherings, where one of our buddies is leaving us in search of the better “opportunities”. I’ll cut the crap about the food & the ambience associated and come to the point.

After all good things and dust settled down, we forget about it all. And some days later most of us forget the “good-guy” too.

But I still remember the morning after my last day at one of my earlier firms. I had gone on a little vacation before getting back to work, so I had all the time in the world to think.

I was thinking about those old pals back at the office, where I left them to their daily battles. And then looked at the small little memento they’ve gifted me in hopes that it will always remind me of them.

We meet people during our lives. They leave an impression of some kind that in a way change our lives. And still, when we depart, all that is left of those people is the mementos. Those lifeless, things that we associate with the living ones with whom we’ve spun some good times in our rather usually mundane, black-n-white lives.

And as mementos fall prey to the unforgiving claws of time, we one day lose them too. Then, we don’t have anything to remind us of those fine people. And our memoirs fly away like the butterflies, never to come back. Time is a great healer. But it is also the greatest eroder. It erodes our memories. Make them fade away and taking the few things that we cherish, with it.

So here’s what I’ve learnt on that hot, lazy summer morning. Don’t forget the ones whom you’ve made part of your life. The world is too small and life is too long. If you bump into someone after ages, the feeling of instantly recognizing them is overwhelming. And I’m sure you want to be the first of the two to feel it.