MEMORIAL

Today, I went to see the Veteran's Memorial Service at the City Hall in London which is the office of the Greater London Authority. The City Hall is on the River Thames and is a beautiful elliptical building near the famous Tower Bridge of London. The ceremony was a tribute paid to remember those people of London who had served during the Two World Wars and had lost their lives. They also paid tribute to those who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. The British have a history of doing things in a very solemn and ceremonial way. The entire ceremony which lasted for an hour was moving and done with a lot of dignity. It also left one feeling proud and was inspirational. There was no pathos or bitterness. It was very solemn. There were a lot of old people who were there in their Uniforms with their medals displayed. Some of them had a lot of difficulty in walking, yet they had come to pay tribute and be a part of the memorial ceremony

It brought to my mind the thought that in our lives, we keep on building memories, which will one day be memorials to some relationship. In our dealings with our own people, we are often very callous. We do not remember that what is today, may not be there tomorrow. The relationship that we build today, needs to be strong. The bonding that we have today has to be mature and honest. That is the basis of true friendship. Unless we are good friends of our children, our parents, our spouse, our relationship cannot be strong. Where we cannot be honest, we deceive. If we are not able to express our true emotions, the foundation of that relationship is bound to be based on egg shells, and needs to be tread on very cautiously. A true friend is one who will understand the other, who will know the friend well enough not to misunderstand , or be judgemental and not change opinion of the friend every day. A true friend would be one who would know and understand true colours and moods, and stand by the friend through thick and thin. If one has to take care of one's P's and Q's with one's true friend, then that is surely not true friendship.