Archive for the 'Relationships' Category

• 3.10.05 "Trusting Others’ Opinions" is posted in Rant, Reflections, Relationships

Perhaps the greatest threat to a relationship is a lack of respect in another’s opinion. The opposite is also true: being able to truly value someone else’s insight on critical topics opens a whole new dimension of communication. Be it a close friend, a relative, a coworker, or a lover–this sort of trust in communication is the building blocks from which relationships can blossom. But it’s so often a missing piece.What’s amazing about relationships is not the patterns of what’s present, but how often particular elements are missing. It’s not so silly though: we seek different forms of connection, and definitions for “friend” or “lover” are as varied as DC weather in March. Some friendships are about convenience, some are about late night conversations, and some are only as long lasting as a given team has games. Other relationships may go deeper, but I believe it’s still somewhat arbitrary which good traits are present. We all know of marriages that were missing seemingly obvious traits…some of which failed and some of which keep trucking along. (more…)

• 2.28.05 "Dating and the Internet" is posted in Reflections, Relationships

By now I can comfortably say that the vast majority of my friends have been on at least one date with someone they met exclusively through the internet. I think that’s pretty cool. (more…)

• 8.11.04 "Finding Meaning and Letting Go" is posted in Best Of, Quote/Lyric, Relationships

One of the central points of The Unbearable Lightness of Being is that we choose to create our own coincidences. At a certain point we not only recognize things but decide to tie them to our poetic memory. Random facts of no consequence suddenly take on meaning and we then find ourselves building significance from a chain of circumstance. As Kundera puts it, “when the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.” (more…)