Make New Friends, But Keep the Old.... Take II

Having just spent the last week with a friend from high school that I had barely seen since graduation, I thought to write about the concept of "auld lang syne", as well as that of making new friends but keeping the old. 

Of course, I thought that sounded familiar, and lo and behold, I have indeed already written on this same theme early on in my blog. You may read the original, "Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...." here.

At least I can say I'm consistent!

But as I've covered the new and old issue on friendships, I realized I should focus today on that simple idea of "auld lang syne." Which is different and yet similar.

Auld lang syne would be, according to Wikipedia, translated exactly as "old long since":

...or more idiomatically, "long long ago", "days gone by" or "old times". Consequently "For auld lang syne", as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as "for (the sake of) old times". 

It has become a famous phrase thanks to the great Scottish poet Robert Burns and his song of the same name.  A song that quickly became a tradition for Scots on Hogmanay, otherwise known as New Year's Eve, and spread throughout the British Isles among English-speaking peoples.

Burns himself acknowledges that the "foundation" for his poem is an original, old song, upon which he built and expanded. As a multiple-time renovator of houses, I can greatly appreciate that process.

The first written version appears to be from 1711, by a James Watson.

"Old Long Syne"  

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,and never thought upon;The flames of Love extinguished,and fully past and gone:Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,that loving Breast of thine;That thou canst never once reflectOn Old long syne.

CHORUS:

On Old long syne my Jo,
On Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
On Old long syne.

It's lovely thought, isn't it? To always reflect on old long syne? On days gone by?

Burns, of course, took this lovely thought and went further. With gratitude to Wikipedia, here's the full song:

Burns' Original Scots Verse:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
and surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pu’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
and gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And in case the Scottish language is a bit confusing, here is the English translation:

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

*******

So.

A lot of introduction and explanation and not much reflection yet....

And yeah, not exactly surprising that I had to go off on a tangent -- at least a relevant one here! -- to fully explain my initial reasoning and inspiration. I may not convince folks with the strengths of my arguments all the time, but I certainly convince them by virtue of wearing them down!

So my point? As there is a point, right? (Ahem.)

I've been reflecting a lot on my past recently. For a lot of reasons obviously -- nothing like a death, divorce and moves to make one reflect on the past! -- but mostly because of the wonders of Facebook. Through that sometimes dangerous consort, I have reconnected with a lot of people I knew in my past. Many of whom I barely knew, and many of whom I knew very very well at one point. All of whom I have gotten to know better in the present.

Certainly, after having just spent several days with a friend from high school -- someone I first met in 4th grade, but have barely seen since graduation, let alone spent any time with -- it has been really brought home to me how amazing it is to get to know the same people all over again.

That may seem odd: how do you get to know someone all over again that you already know? It also may seem obvious: of course we grow and change and mature and reinvent and become new as time passes. Duh.

Well, both of those thoughts are "double duhs". Both are true. And both are not. The core of who we are is formed at a very young age. We certainly grow, change, reinvent (and so much more), as time passes. But our "essence" -- our soul -- does not change.

So spending time with friends who come from what may seem like a former life, is in fact all about reconnecting with an earlier you -- a deeper, more original version of you, of your essence, of your soul. It's a realization and recognition of your own self; a profound experience of knowing....

And also a pretty profound experience of drinking....

And pool... And skiing... And Big Buck Hunter.

You know: the pint cup, the running about the slopes, and the picking of the daisies as Burns put it. Well, actually he put it as: pint-stowp, braes, and gowans. But. Same difference.

Because what's the point otherwise?

Really. What is the point?

Otherwise it's all just bullshit and philosophy... And we can't have any of those, now can we?