Relationships are an interesting paradigm…it means different things to different people…., I beleive Relationship are often influenced by the following:
Our internal struggles often become our interpersonal struggles (playing out with others). we each possess a unique inner landscape of expectations, hopes, dreams, biases, conflicts and fears—ways of being that were formed by our earliest relationships and that now shape our perceptions, reactions and how we interact with others.
Intimate interactions from early life serve as the basis upon which relationships later in life are formed.Intimate relationships formed during the early stages of life ultimately give rise to an individual’s personality development. for example, if you have been raised by loving parents who always sowed the best in you, you will naturally inherit those core values and will also expect that is how your partner or your friends should be. But if you have been raised in an abusive situaltion, then the pain , anger and what you carry can shape your future relationships to be very different.
I have been blessed with beautiful parents who have instilled values, love and strong sense respect for one another…So I have always looked at forming relationships and friendships with a view from “My roots” always assuming that people who I form friendships are also of the same wavelength and with my same principles…..
My family members were so close to one another and so supportive to one another…. and most importantly transparent with one another…I always looked for such qualities is friendships and relationships…. Unitl…..
when I moved to australia as a teenager all by myself, …. I experienced allot of disspointments…. Most of the people who I met, only wanted to use me to fulfil their selfish desires and never bother to give, relationships where my trust was betrayed, people that are happy to just hang out with you…once every blue moon, and superfcial friendships that had no meaning. I felt very empty and alone….
In my life the probability of meaningful relationships were so little compared to a large number of relationships that were meaningless. This left a vacuum in my heart as I always was looking for something that was deep, transparent and filled with love and respect in the relationships I wanted to have…….as those were the relationships that I grew up with.
But later on in my life I learnt that…. you will be disappointed when you place expectations on the relationships you build if you keep expecting them to tick every box you have set in your mind… If treating people with honesty is what you have grown up with for someone who comes from an abused, broken family where those core values were never instilled, for them it may be not important. So expecting that from someone who has never understood what that means will only lead you to be disappointed.
In my relationship with my husband, I have had to really learn to rethink the paradigm of relationships and make allot of adjustments…I walked into this marriage expecting that we were going to have a family life that exactly resembled my childhood days….I am an extrovert, my husband is not ! I share everything, he is a man of few words.
It was hard to deal with disspointments earlier in my marriage, but I have changed allot thorugh gods grace to re-adjust my expectations from him as I understand, each person is unique and bring their own value add into a relationships. As I started not to place expecations on my husband to be a certain way, god worked supernatural miracle to change him to be the way I have always desired. He now talks !! and not so silent anymore. ( not sure whether that is a good thing anymore)
• It is important not to interact with people with a pre-filled checklist of what they should and shouldn’t be to you….I have accepted that some will give you the deep and transparent and honest interaction that I desire and some may not… so for the people who don’t give me anything…I look at whether I can be some kind of positive influence in their life to make a difference in their life…. IF YES.. then I am happy to be there for them as that is also a type of a ministry where god uses you as a vessel to empower someone.
• If I feel the interactions I have is draining me, leaving me empty… and unhappy.. then I have gone through the process of de-cluttering those friendships out of my life.
• I have opened myself to have friendships with all walks of life without being restrictive about whom I want to be friends with because I now believe that psychological maturity involves integrating intimacy into a life’s framework that encompasses all parts of life. Now I feel less disappointed… and look at relationships with a new perspective.
Life is a journey…. embrace it as it comes !
Its peaceful when you only place your expecattions on GOD only !! no one else can satisfy you like he does.