|| FRIENDS ARE MEDICINE || 

This pandemic, coronavirus has led us to have medicines, vaccination, booster dose, quarantine period, and many more crucial situations which we rarely experience in life. The last two years have been an experience of ups and downs together in our life. The world was created by God where the sun and moon are best friends, one sets another takes over the place to remove darkness. Moon and stars are best friends, one becomes smaller or larger, other stars together sparkle and shine. Sky and ocean are best friends, they are connected and go parallel but are always present for each other. Ocean and clouds are friends, ocean evaporates heat and clouds get rain to make the ocean colder again. Plants, trees, and human beings are best friends, one inhales oxygen and the other inhales carbon dioxide to help each other. Nature and human beings on this earth created by God have so many similarities of work, priorities, responsibilities, and emotions to be with each other. In the revolution of science and rat race of this world, we have somehow not noticed this, ignored it or we have not realized how important is this relation? if you notice, nature and human beings can be best friends and they can be the best medicine for each other.

During the olden times, in Ramayana Rama's brother acts like a best friend and Hanumanji did his best as a sevak and a friend. In Mahabharata, Krishna acts as a best friend to Pandavas and especially for Arjuna. In a number of stories of Krishna, his friendship with Sudama during learning years, in childhood all vraj, gwals and gopis and his best friend; his love Radha. They all were Krishna's friends who were present all the time for him in any situation. I don't think he needed any medicine because for him his friends around were the best medicine. All narrated stories of Krishna say that he himself did his best as a friend and his friends also did their best. Their friendship was self-less, they did their best without any expectations. They did fight for their friends, sacrificed for friends, worked together. Other stories like Akbar- Birbal or many other mythological stories have given importance to friendship. It is difficult to find selfless people and if you find them then only miracles will happen and positive results are generated.

Today we talk about science, medicines, vaccination, and booster dose in many other things which help us to survive longer. But in earlier times, our ancestors who created many history lessons also survived longer as mythology and stories say. Just think about it that they survived because they had natural medicines from nature along with the base of our rich heritage in which family supports as friends, they had people who were not in competition with each other and they had friends who worked as the best medicine for them during physical or mental health issues. Today we have so many professions, small changes happen we run to the doctor immediately but we don't talk to our own people who may also help us solve our problems as they know us so well. Today's young generation wants to take help of psychologist or counselor but they don't want to discuss it with their own parents who can be their best friends and can give best solutions as they know them in and out. Parents can give the best positive fertilizer to help the young generation to grow. 

I remember when my elder daughter was in 10th standard and we were discussing at home what should her future be like and which stream she should take? Like any other parent, my husband discussed with many people and as peer pressure, we decided to meet one of the counselors. We went to him, discussed and he made a planned chart for her future. After coming out of the counselor cabin, we had paid Rs.10000 which was quite a big amount for discussion and counseling. And this incident is about 10 years back. The moment we came out and my daughter came to know that we have to pay 10k, my daughter prompted saying my mom does better counseling than this you should have given this amount to mom. Sometimes we as parents also underestimate ourselves, rather I feel we can help our kids in the best way as a friend as we know our kids very well and what are their likings, what they are good in and what is their potential? If as a family you work together to make decisions, you create happiness as a support system for each other which works like the best medicine.

Today as parents, I and my husband (who was my friend earlier, and I got married to him) always discuss the challenges we face in life. Especially for kids, from going to the doctor during pregnancy or making them study or doing any activities for them or about their education or any other matter. Especially even kids know if mom or dad says yes then it's yes and if either one says no it's going to be no. During this time, I meet so many parents who told me that their kids have behavioral issues wherein they have only one or two kids. In the competition of being a better parent, than each, another one will say no other one will pamper and say yes. If parents say no then grandparents will say yes and pamper the child. They become stubborn, they don't like failures, they want everything, they demand and it continues... then there is no control anywhere. I feel parents themselves should be like friends,  understand and trust each other first, then family members should understand each other, thus the kid will grow in a good environment. If parents work equally then I think we will not need any medicine for mental health issues.

Like Arjuna, I am lucky to have faith in God as it works as my best medicine. This faith helps me to have my parents as best friends thus I can discuss anything with them at any time. My family, husband, and kids with whom I can fight, discuss and have support for whatever I do in life. There are so many personalities who have been my friends and have always guided me to be better than what I am today. They never implemented their philosophy of life on me but rather guided me that if you work on this philosophy, thus you can generate good results. They taught me to live with dignity and fight for myself. I was invited for the women empowerment award and had a discussion with one of my friends, he said you must go as a leader of women and say that as a female you should never bow down in front of anyone. That just created so much energy in me that if your life is surrounded by good souls with beautiful hearts then you don't need any medicine to survive. You gain live energetic energy through such friends.

Sometimes it's also there that you have many friends and it's difficult to find a true one. I feel those friends are the best medicine who do best for you without any expectations. They pray for you in your difficult times. They cry with you or they laugh with you. Sometimes we don't notice a small gesture done by our true friend. A friend is not only with whom you grow. A friend is someone who understands and trusts you like no one else. It can be your parent, your spouse, your kids, your employee, your boss, your neighbor or friend in school college or at your workplace, or whom you meet through someone or meet while traveling. In this world with nature, there are many natural connections that happen. Wherever you feel your thought process is matching and you feel some good things happening around you with the positive energy of that person then you just need to add them as a friend and then just see miracles will happen. Good friends with the same wavelength or thought process and working without expectations from each other creates the best medicine to survive.

Nature is natural. Nature around us should also be managed naturally. Our ancestors have also written in books that if you talk to plants as a friend they do listen. God created us if you talk to him as a friend he also listens to all your prayers. Parents are best friends throughout our life, they become small like kid and they also become responsible with us. Our family, friends are our medicine, if we talk to each other or understand each other for all this we just need to be natural with our nature. The best medicine to survive on this earth is having friends who understand and trust us and be with us naturally not with any purpose or demand. We all have it around us, we just need to notice or feel it.