By Laura Htet (UDE)
When the rain is pouring down, an umbrella can feel like a matter of life and death. It becomes one of the most precious things we have – something we cannot do without. We hold it close, grip it tightly, and keep it above our heads. In return, it protects us from every drop of rain. But when the rain stops, that same umbrella can suddenly become a burden. Once the sky clears, no one wants to carry it anymore. It begins to feel like something taking up unnecessary space. Eventually, it may simply be left by the roadside or pushed into a forgotten corner.
Some human relationships are like that, too. There are people who come into our lives during difficult seasons and quietly become our umbrellas. When everything seems uncertain, they remain beside us. When we are caught in the rain of problems, they give us shelter. When we fall, they reach out a hand and help us stand again. When we are too tired to continue, they give us encouragement. When our hearts are heavy, they listen without asking for anything in return. During the days when we cannot get through life alone, they share our storms with their time, their love, their patience, and their understanding. At those moments, we matter. Our presence feels valuable. Sometimes, people may even tell us that they do not know what they would do without us. They may promise that they will always remain by our side. Their words may make us believe that the relationship will last forever. But life has a way of changing. The rain eventually becomes lighter. The clouds begin to disappear. The difficult days slowly pass. They regain their strength, find their direction, and learn to stand on their own feet again.
And this is sometimes when we discover something painful. When life becomes easier, and people no longer need the support they once depended on, some of them begin to forget the people who stood beside them during their hardest days. Just as an umbrella may be forgotten when the rain has stopped, the people who once protected them from the storm may also be forgotten. Sometimes, we may meet them outside, yet they may walk past without even saying hello. The conversations become fewer. The messages become less frequent. The closeness slowly disappears. The person who once seemed essential suddenly becomes a stranger. It can be difficult to understand. After all, the person has not changed into someone else. The kindness, time, patience, and support they once gave were real. What has changed is simply the situation. This reveals an uncomfortable truth about some relationships: people sometimes measure loyalty according to benefits. As long as someone is useful to them, they may value that person. As long as someone can give them something, they may want us near them. As long as someone can fulfil their needs, solve their problems, provide support, or make their lives easier, they may consider that person important.
They may say, “I do not know what I would do without you.” They may promise, “We will always be together.” But when the benefits disappear, when their needs have been fulfilled, and when there is nothing more to receive, that loyalty can disappear as well. The relationship becomes like an umbrella abandoned after the rain has stopped. Suddenly, it no longer seems important. Yet the umbrella itself has not lost its value. It did its job when it was needed. It provided shelter when the rain was falling. It protected them when they had nowhere else to hide. The fact that they no longer need it does not erase what it once did for them. The same is true of people. There is something important we can learn from this: Being kept close because someone needs us is not the same as being kept close because someone truly values us.
When we are useful, there may be many people who want us around. When we have something to offer, many people may want to remain close to us. When we can solve their problems, provide comfort, or fulfil their needs, our presence may suddenly become very important. But when we have nothing left to offer, when we cannot provide what they want, and when they no longer need our help, the number of people who remain can become very small. Those are the relationships worth remembering. When a relationship comes to an end, we sometimes finally understand what it was built upon.
Did they love us, or did they love what we gave them? Did they value our presence, or did they value our usefulness? Did they appreciate who we were, or only what we could do for them? Sometimes, the ending of a relationship gives us answers that we could not see while we were still inside it. Perhaps this is why difficult times can teach us so much about people. During peaceful days, everyone can walk beside us. During successful times, many people can celebrate with us. But during difficult days, when there is nothing to gain and no reward to receive, the people who stay become much easier to recognize. True relationships are not measured only by how much we can give each other. They are also measured by whether we can remain connected when there is nothing to gain.
Needing an umbrella while it is raining is completely natural. But throwing that umbrella away after the rain has stopped does not mean that the umbrella has lost its value. It means that the person who used it has forgotten its worth. Therefore, when the heavy rain of life finally passes, we should not forget the people who once protected us from the storm. Life moves forward, and circumstances change.
We may eventually no longer need the same support, advice, or protection. That is natural. People grow, situations change, and different paths sometimes take us in different directions. But changing circumstances should not erase gratitude. We do not have to remain dependent on someone simply because they once helped us. We do not have to stay in every relationship forever. However, we can still remember what someone once did for us. Because gratitude is not dependence. Gratitude is remembrance.
True loyalty is not about remembering someone only while we need them. It is about remembering them even after we no longer need what they once provided. Perhaps that is what gratitude truly means. And perhaps, in the end, the greatest measure of our character is not how we treat people when we need them, but how we remember them when we no longer do. The rain will stop. The sky will clear. The umbrella may eventually be folded and put away. But the memory of who stood beside us in the rain should never be forgotten.
#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar