Friends and Friendships

E-mail from Cyril Ernest.

Antony Ernest	8 Dec 2018, 23:23 (8 hours ago)
to me

Dear Lucky,

The years are rapidly going by and soon it will be the end of our earthly existence. Through the brainchild of your Medical School blog that was created by you and maintained with your tenacity with the help of regular contributors we have been very fortunate indeed to follow the exploits of our classmates in Sri Lanka and abroad. We have been able to rejoice in acclamation of the individual achievements and also sadly lament the loss of dear friends and classmates over the years and the list is steadily growing.It is hard to imagine that it is almost 60 years since the day we entered Medical School in 1962. I am no literary genius to make a contribution to the blog in comparison to your regulars - however, I received an e mail from a close friend Allan Gunasekera my cricket and hockey team mate at St. Benedict’s re friends and friendship which fascinated me that I thought I should share with you. Here it goes -

"Everyone has a friend during each stage of life, but only the lucky ones have the same friend in all stages of life.
We have 3 types of friends in life -
Friends for a reason, Friends for a season and friends for a lifetime.
Remember that the the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.
A good friend listens to your adventures, and a best friend makes them with you.
If you have nothing in life but a good friend you are rich.
Happiness is meeting an old friend after a long lapse and feeling that nothing has changed.
Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out but to see who cares enough to break them down - Socrates.
Good times become good memories and bad times become good lessons.
A strong friendship doesn’t need daily conversation, doesn’t always need togetherness, as long as the relationship lives in the heart - true friends will never part.
Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.
We don’t meet people by accident - they are meant to cross our path for a reason.
Childhood friendship is the most beautiful memory that can’t ever be replaced.
It is not what we have in life but who who we have in our life that matters.
Good friends are like stars - You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.
Sometimes I sit and think of all the memories I ‘ve made and smile. Then I smile more at the thought of memories yet to be made.
Life always brings tears,smiles and memories. The tears dry, the smiles fade, but the memories last forever.
Letting go doesn’t mean  you forget the person completely. It just means that you find a way of surviving without them.                                                                                           
The most frightening thing about seeing an old friend again is the fear that your friendship is nothing more than a memory.
Friends come and go like waves of the ocean, but true ones stick like an octopus on your face.                   
The most painful goodbyes are ones that are never said and never explained.
Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
Friends may change but the memory lasts forever.                                                         
No matter what happens, some memories can never be replaced.                               
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart".                                                                                                                              
Cyril Ernest.