Friendship & Principles

Ever wondered about it? Which is more important for us? I believe that a relationship can be sacrificed in order to keep up one's own principles. Some time ago, I came across the following, & now I am wondering whether my thinking is right.

Akhil & Arjun were very good friends in the school. Arjun's mother had died a few years ago. His father gave him money for lunch, and he was free to eat anything he wished. But he longed for the food that his mother used to prepare for him.

Akhil struck a deal with Arjun. Both started sharing their lunch with each other. Thus, where on one hand, Akhil could enjoy the food-stuff from the vendor outside the school-campus, Arjun was happy to munch the home-made food. None of them ever took each others lunch, without offering a theirs to the other .

One day Akhil dropped his pen. It no more wrote smoothly, & he had hard time to write the notes in the class as the teacher dictated. He complained this to his parents, but they won’t listen. Akhil told Arjun, “I wish I had a new pen”. Next day Arjun bought a new pen for Akhil. Akhil wished to pay for the pen. Arjun told that it was just a gift, and Akhil need not pay. The argument continued, and finally huge proportion. Both felt that they have been eating each others lunch but did not pay back enough to compensate for it.

Finally, as no settlement was reached, they decided not to share their lunch any more. Thus, both lost something which they used to enjoy.

I still wonder, what is the place for principles in ones' life. How should we balance these two parameters. I have seen a lot of instances where two friends go for lunch, one pays the entire bill, & the other friend keeps this in mind. On next ocassion, the other individual pays. It is assumed that both have paid each other, irrespective of the bill-amount which may be higher in one place. But nobody minds.

Let's realze that a true friendship is something that is not available in market. And one pays much more than money can buy. Do we remember how our friend took pains to buy a small birthday gift for us? The time he would have spent, the questions he would have asked himself as to what will suit you, what do you require most, what he can buy within his budget, that will be most useful to you, etc?

If you don't think that your friend has not done all this, then you may not have a friend. And the only way to have a friend is to be one....