Skip to main content

Always & Never

Picture credit here


Always. Never.

What do these words mean?

Simple enough words - Two syllables, direct spelling to pronunciation, timeless in their application in our daily lives.

But what do they really mean?

For instance, two best friends, before parting ways to go to university, exchange a very teary farewell - they exchange gifts, exchange cards, each pledging to be best friends for always...forever... and that they always call and never forget to visit each other when they go back to their hometowns.

Of course this scenario is a girls only scenario. For guys the scene would be a quick hug, a few pats on the back, and a salute as the bus drives away... Less words, less outward displays of emotion, but nevertheless a quiet ache in the chest and a steely determination to always be friends, and never forget the bond brotherhood that had been forged.

Or even former lovers, as they forever part ways... The parting speech before they embrace for the last time, where each vows that they would always treasure the memories they had together, and that they would never forget each other...before they slowly part, turn, and walk away from each other.

The question is...

How many of these always and nevers really do become a reality?

Or is reality the other way round?
When best friends at school/college become worst enemies because of something one of them thought the other one said...or because a girl/guy got in the way of the friendship?
When former lovers do not talk or even acknowledge the other, and both not really knowing the reason why?
or even more common, when there are no concrete reasons, and friends just drift apart, gradually slipping from 'best friends' or 'brothers' to 'friends', and gradually from 'friends' to 'someone I used to know back in school/uni'.

How many relationships can stand the test of time, and claim the right to use the words 'always', and 'never'?


Perhaps that's something I'll always think about, but never quite know the answer.
Labels:

Comments

Yana Ismail said…
yeah!first to comment in here;p

True friendship will last forever...always;)huhu

do you believe that Sir..?

I DO..;)
October 31, 2008 at 3:21 AM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Liyana,
You would be very lucky to find friendship like that...
As for me, I used to believe that... I really did... But I guess sometimes life throws a few curveballs along the way...
I guess only time will tell :)
October 31, 2008 at 5:37 AM
A t i Q a h said…
Friends will come and go, but memories will not.
October 31, 2008 at 4:12 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Atiqah,
I think that was one of the wisest things you've ever said...
It actually helps put things in perspective.
Thank you.
October 31, 2008 at 7:47 PM
Yana Ismail said…
hm..time heals everything..;)right?

it will all get better in time..lalalala..
October 31, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Liyana,

Time does heal wounds..but this entry's not about me having any wounds...it's just something to think about.
November 1, 2008 at 12:32 AM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Azie,
Nah...here's a tissue I saved for you :)
November 1, 2008 at 3:50 AM
azie said…
*srot..srot...srot...*

nah, amik balik. tapi dah buat kesat hingus,keh keh keh
November 2, 2008 at 5:55 AM
Yana Ismail said…
huhu..alright Sir..;)

Wish us luck for our Discourse Analysis and ESP paper..waaaa;p
November 2, 2008 at 4:10 PM
thinking to0 much said…
for me, in terms of friendship..

time that passed by forces people to have lots of.. lots of.. commitment..
commitment with family n jobs.

only true friends understand that n will give us space to move on..

but never really intend to break the promise of always n never.
November 3, 2008 at 12:19 AM
♛ LORD ZARA 札拉 ♛ said…
Yeah....

the words "always" and "never"~

I rather said that its hard to maintain those words in life...in term of relationship...=(
November 3, 2008 at 3:04 AM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Melor,
U r absolutely rite... It is actually unfair to expect for things to remain the same..everything changes, as do we.
A friendship that lasts the test of time indeed a rare and wonderful thing.

Zara,
welcome to my blog :)
hope to see u more often around here.
November 3, 2008 at 4:35 AM
Anonymous said…
Memories of the good old days ALWAYS make me smile.. I will NEVER forget the time when a classmate was late for class and had to climb over the school fence in a hurry.. then we hid his school bag under someone else's chair...
November 4, 2008 at 3:00 AM
Anonymous said…
Always broke, never rich.
heh..
My default status
November 4, 2008 at 4:04 AM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Galadriel,

I will remember that for ALWAYS! It's a story to tell the grandkids...

CC,
truer words one will be hard-pressed to find... :)
November 4, 2008 at 4:22 AM
Tiesha Chan said…
i prefer to forget all those things..
its not worth it..
November 4, 2008 at 6:28 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
CT,
Different people have different ways of coping.. I did the same in my day.. There were times when I'd even pretend the person had died, as not to feel anything. It only works for a short while..
And then for each and every one of these failed relationships/friendships, I began to take comfort in the fact that they did happen, and that we learn what we can from them, and move on..
In the words of atiqah, friends come and go,but memories will not. :)

Liyana,
I tengah tunggu inspirasi untuk update nih... give me some inspiration laa...
Nak suruh u jadi inspirasi I nnt ada orang x senang...hehehehe...
November 5, 2008 at 6:31 AM
The Immigrant Mom said…
I have many of these "always" and "never" moments. I always remember people who I love, and I never forget when people hurt me.
November 5, 2008 at 8:42 AM
Tiesha Chan said…
owh.. ic..
well, i just assume that person is a jerk, n i hate him..
dats y i can totally forget bout him..
hehehe..
but, is't not applicable to all.. only special case..
hohohoho...
November 5, 2008 at 1:08 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Ms Mother,
welcome to my humble blog.. I hope to see u around more often..

CT,
it's always nice to know there are special cases :)
November 5, 2008 at 5:14 PM
Tiesha Chan said…
yeah.. case.. not cases.. ;)
November 5, 2008 at 11:43 PM
Yana Ismail said…
uhuhu..siapa yg tak senang Sir?auww..

huhu..i pun lately takde idea sgt..al-maklumla,kepala serabut bc buku;p

em..u cerita jelah..pasal pape..pasal cmne u kenal wife u ke..huhu..cmne u ngorat dia ke..ha,mesti sweet;)
November 6, 2008 at 3:56 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help is always far away

Help is never far away. That is the old adage that has been drummed into us ever since we were young. No matter where you are, and what difficulty you are going through, someone will be close at hand to help. Except they aren't. Many a time no one in your vicinity gives a rat's ass. Or could be in a mess of their own to even think that someone else may need the support. Just that little bit of assurance to show that they care. Sometimes it can be in the smallest things. A kind word. A check up of how one is doing. Yet help does come. Someone takes the time to respond, in short messages, all the way from across the Pacific Ocean. Someone does take the time to relate, and share their own experiences, and offers words of comfort from across the country. Yes, help is at hand, but it is always far away. *picture credit here
Post a Comment
Read more

The Forbidden Kingdom No More

Yesterday is a day that would forever go down the sands of time as... "The Day I Fed Two Hundred Ravenous Mouths with Bottomless Pits" Oh the horror!... The Pain!... The Suffering!!! Like a swarm of locusts they came, wave upon wave upon wave... Like a farmer protecting his crop I could only look on and stare, as they darkened the sky, before zeroing in for the kill... Tears streamed down my eyes as I watched them strip every last grain of maize and corn that I had planted at the begininning of the year... My knees thudded to the ground, as I numbly watched the carnage around me, my tired brain barely registering what my eyes perceived. "So this is what it feels like"... I thought in my brain... "This thing called Open House" . .. ... Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I'm just being dramatic here ;) Yesterday was actually a day that I'm going to remember for a long time, simply because it was graced with the presence of those eager young minds I he...
36 comments
Read more

Premature Mid-Life Crisis?

"Sejak bila lu jadi mat rempit beb?" (Translation: Since when did you become a street racer?) Were the first words that blazed onto the screen of my Dopod PDA Phone when I told my cousin that I had bought a bike. I mean...Is it that strange that I happened to work my butt off, save up, and buy one of the meanest most beautiful bikes I ever set my eyes on? I mean...just look at it... Shiny jet black finish, laced with highlights of blazing red, topped with rugged racing streaks...  I think I just wiped a tear off my face... No, no, don't get all worked up... I haven't gone off the wall. It's just that with the increase in fuel price, it seems silly to spend RM600 just going to and from work every day... Think about it, that's a month and a half's pay for my maid! Just to get to and from work!  So, I figured this would be a good compromise - maybe 2 or 3 days a week going to work by bike, and going to the local stores, local eateries, and even the local mosq...
28 comments
Read more