November 25, 2016
Life is continuous – or at least has been ever since it first started (landed?) on this planet. You wouldn't be reading these words if that weren't the case.
Starting as microorganisms in the oceans, it has evolved into billions of humans who have overtaken this blue-green marble floating in the endless space.
While present in abundance on Earth, life is unique to this planet in the universe, as far as we can see today.
As we evolved into more intelligent and complex creatures, our needs and the ability to solve them evolved. At some point, we figured it was better to be a group instead of being independent individuals who were much more prone to dying by any of the multiple natural causes – including being killed by other animals.
Societies evolved, we took advantage of our shared learnings and used it to strengthen ourselves. Being a group or pack was not unique to humans, but coupled with our ability to speak, which led to the invention of languages, and later putting them down into written form, helped us share knowledge with a much bigger group - this was a major advantage, and a contributor to where we are today.
As societies grew, order came about. People chose or were assigned tasks. Not everyone needed to hunt or gather anymore. Agriculture was practiced by the community, and we were able to grow food in larger quantities than was needed. Which some people think, is the origin of the need for writing – record-keeping.
We now had free time, which was used by some to sit and wonder about the workings of the world.
Friendship is a bond unlike most others. While majority of people you interact with are either a result of proximity at birth (family), proximity at home (neighbours and society), or proximity at work (colleagues and industry), friends are a result of proximity at heart.
We come into contact with people in one of the above ways, yet only a select few end up as our friends. The ones we feel we can trust, have great conversations with, share our feelings with, not worry about being judged, have shared values and care – are the ones who stay.
Friends are like the family you choose, lovers you want forever, and partners in crime – all rolled into one.
On this day of giving thanks, let's be grateful for the amazing friends.