Random philosophical thoughts....

I had a thought on my way home today. In my life, I've known friends whose lives seem so similar to mine, it's almost creepy. These friends seem to be the reflection of me, or perhaps, I am the reflection of them. Whatever it is, I wonder why life presents itself as such. Is it a way for me to see who I am in the reflection of others?

Maybe it's true. If the old adage of "Birds of a feather flock together" is true, then it is possible that people who are similar would naturally attract each other. But then I thought of mirrors and parallel lines. One can touch a mirror but one can never touch the image on the other side of the mirror. Parallel lines run along each other, but they never meet.

I asked myself - What does this say about friendships and relationships?

Maybe what it says is that even when two different people are so similar, they are still two different individuals. The real person and his image in the mirror are but two separate entities. So are the set of parallel lines.

It brought me to the puzzling question, that if this premise is accepted, then does it entail that the lines will never meet? That the image and the real object will never touch? Unlike two jigsaw pieces that are so different yet they meet to form a complete whole, the pair of parallel lines don't.

Does this mean that friends who lead similar lives will never come together? I think not. Experience tells me otherwise. My closest friends are those who share how I feel, how I think, how I act. Sometimes, words are not even necessary to convey a message! We speak as though we're connected by some cosmic force.

So, perhaps, friendships and relationships are not really like parallel lines or mirror images. It's perhaps about two lines running along each other, but that will eventually converge no matter what happens - perhaps like a pair of chopsticks? Separate yet similar, and laid down side by side, they work well only when used in unison. They cross and meet when that happens, and part again when the job is done. But no matter what, you won't find them far from each other.

Chopsticks or a pair of parallel lines? Only time will tell...