Friendship " QUOTE- UNQUOTE" line up

My mom had a fascination of  reading and then writing down in a note book all the quotes that she loved. That book  in her own handwriting is now a fond memory with us three sisters. I guess that is where I got my passion for writing quotes which I write an upload on my social media almost every day.... and you what I realised?  That there were so many quotes out there by people from around the globe, that I could actually write a whole blog just using those quotes in a proper sequence and by just adding a few words (those you see in italics)  to string  it together... so  this is what my love for quotes inspired me to do... Here goes one on "Friendship"...

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one^{."(~C.S, Lewis).}   ... "No friendship is an accident." ^{(~ O.Henry)}. but 'Making a friend and maintaining a friendship are two different things. Be picky about who you keep around you. Personalities, words and traits do rub of naturally' ^{(~Sonya Teclai, the Goodvibe.co).}  'It is important to make friendships that are deeper than gossiping, drinking and going out.  Make friends who can you can go out with, make friends you can cry with, make friends who support your life goals and believe in you' ^{(~Word Porn)..} 'Anyone that encourages intellectual, emotional, artistic or spiritual growth is worth keeping. Don't let them go' ^{(~Dau-CosmicExtensions).} So it is simple, “Don’t make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to lever yourself up.” ^{(~Thomas J. Watson).} After all it is said that, 'Friends are the siblings God never gave us. ^(~Mencius). and that "Friends are born, not made' ^{(~Henry Adams)} ... Think about it. "God gives us relatives; thank God, we can choose our friends". ^{(~Addison Mizner)}.  'Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to is letting a person be what he/she really is' ^{(~Jim Morrison)....} because  "A friend is someone who can see the truth and pain in you even when you are fooling everyone else "^{(~ Unknown).}

"Friends should be like books, few, but hand-selected." ^{(~C.J. Langenhoven)...} More importantly it is true that,  “If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.” ^{(~ Zig Ziglar).} Even then,  "I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.”^{(~Plutarch). ).} It is therefore better to remember that  “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” ^{(~Martin Luther King, Jr.)}  So, "If you wanna find out who's a true friend, screw up or go through a challenging time.. then see who sticks around." ^{(~Karen Salmonsohn)}

Let me end with one of my own thoughts about friendship.

"Friendship is not something you learn in school.

But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship,

you really haven't learned anything. There comes a

moment in life when one must acknowledge

that some friends will hurt you, intentionally and

sometimes unintentionally too...It is then best to

either keep quiet and forget about it....or move on !!"

Laughter is the best medicine- who ever said that!!

Laughter is the best medicine- who ever said that. Some might say that laughter is a medicine to hide a hurt, some will say it frees me from sadness, some say it is an exercise to keep happy. Some fake it at social events.

So let me think this through. No one feels like laughing when they lose their spouse or job, no one sees the humour when someone is shown the door or when a relationship fails or when life throws you a bad curve.  Then how can it be a medicine. Such a myth isn’t it? Think about it. When did you last feel like laughing at such misfortunes? If you did laugh then it lasts only for a small window of time till those thoughts come rushing back. Laughter is simply is a means of distracting oneself at that time, that moment and then back to square one….but then there is the flip side to this medicine.  I for one can laugh at anything even myself and that I learnt from my late mom. My Mom never failed to see humour in anything. Walking down to the market with her was a humorous day as she could find something to laugh at. Some might say laughing at someone else’s expense is bad- how rude, but we laugh because mom taught us to laugh at ourselves and to make others laugh. I remember that day when we, sisters and cousin brother were sitting at her 'death' prayers in the fire temple when a young boy came in to pray and our eyes watched this gawky boy as he walked around praying..... and then it happened. Instead of touching each foot of God's photo, he spreads his index and middle finger and places one each at the feet and we burst into laughter and my cousin says “if Mami had been here she would be killing it laughing”.

Laughter is good and happy memories that sometimes burst forth. It is free fun and probably the best way to be de-stress. It is totally contagious and you can never escape that smile.  Laughter will definitely not remove the pain but it will lighten the burden if you let it.  You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing because it’s coming from the heart and not forced. People swear by its positive health effects and there are laughter clubs today making it truly the best medicine and I agree that there is a great deal of positivity in that thought.  So while it’s clear that some events are truly sad and not occasions to break into laughter, there are on the other hand, indeed some that deserve a dose of laughter medicine. There will be loads of those who can’t see humour in what you see. Think of those times when you are watching a movie and people around you are laughing hysterically and you are thinking “what’s so funny about that”. And it’s not like you can’t enjoy a good laugh but at that moment it just revolts you. You know, I have faced that myself and analyzed that situation and have realised that most times I don’t laugh in a movie it is because I am not in a mood to or tired, or had a hard day and just not relaxed enough or genuinely just can’t appreciate the humour. It’s just “ME” in that moment.  After all, we are all different anyways and we all laugh at different things, for different reasons or at different situations, don’t we?  So don’t carry that overpowering feeling of sadness or too much of pretend happiness....... after all it your life. Laugh only because you want to, when you want to, however loud you want.  It reminds me of a song from Mary Poppins "I love to laugh" that goes :

I love to laugh

It's getting worse every year

The more I laugh, the more I fill with glee

And the more the glee

The more I'm a merrier me

.......It is plain and simple. Laughter is a medicine for you to use. It is your choice when and where to use it.