The Reasons for Relating

Why we bother to relate to others, even when it's uncomfortable.

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed.

–Carl Jung

Knowing and being known to others provides opportunity to grow. The more we rub up against different types of people, the better. We bump against those who are the same as us, with all our strengths and faults reflected like a mirror. We bump against those who are very different from us, with all their strengths filling our gaps and providing inspiration and their faults act as warning signs and gratitude for what we don’t have to contend with in our own lives.

Each time we bump against another we have the chance to have some of our rough edges knocked off. We get polished. We shine a little brighter.

So it’s worth this dance we do. It’s not always comfortable. Sometimes we’re pushed beyond our limits. Sometimes we push others beyond theirs. There are sometimes arguments and fights, celebrations and growth. In everything we can look to learn, look to have an edge refined, look to see a perspective different from our own. Some people bring out our best and some, our worst. It’s just as important to see what we have inside us that’s not pretty or kind or good as it is to celebrate what is best in us.

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