Relationship: Life's Bottomline

Together, We Grow

Some twenty-five plus years ago, I picked up a book on relationships. I never was able to finish it as it kept passing from hand to hand. Everyone wanted to read it. Finally, it never came back. It was Richard Exley’s book, “Life's Bottom Line: Building Relationships That Last.” "Relationships" is a hot topic. Everyone wants to know about it. Everyone is interested in it. And, there is no surprise at that. It is the very essence of living. "There is no hope of joy except in human relations." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

Created to Relate:

We were each created for relationship – relationship with God, our own self, and one another. We were created to relate to things, and life itself. Whether or not we succeed and excel in life is determined by the health of our relationships. None of us can succeed on our own. None of us can reach the fullness of our potential and be on our own. We need each other – family, friends, acquaintances, and foes.

The Glory of Friendship:

Ralph Waldo Emerson declares, "The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship." How so appropriate that is, for we are each spiritual beings having a human experience. Friendship spurs us on our journey, our pilgrimage, as we each fulfill the purpose.

Evolving into Our Better Selves:

Each and everyone is important in and for our evolution. They are each ordained for us. Our success is dependent on our understanding and right appropriation of this. I pity those who waste time in prayers for their enemies to die. Who then will God prepare a table for them in the presence of? What if God answers everyone's prayer in this line? Don't you know you are someone's enemy? There are specific lessons for us to learn and grow in and through as we relate with even our enemies.

No Joy in Being a Hermit:

"When we live our lives in isolation, what we have is unavailable and what we lack is unprocurable." (Basil) Until we learn the lessons our life is going nowhere. Life is not about avoidance and escaping. There are things we have to live through and confront in other to enter into our promised land. There are no options around it. "Trying to live without community is like trying to live without oxygen. We weren't created to do it." (Jefferson Bethke)

We have to learn to relate aright to people. So, work on this and see your life bloom and blossom.

© 2017 Akin Akinbodunse

Links to Related Articles:

Appreciation Attracts

Keep Your Home (Part 2): Cover Me

Tolerance: The Secret of a Happy Married Life (Part One)

Links to Other Resources:

I Hear You (Michael S. Sorensen)

Relationships Goals (Michael Todd)

Relationships 101 (John C. Maxwell)