The tango takes two.
Don’t Step on my Feet
One of the quickest ways to bring more love into your life is to treat your relationships like dance partners. It is fun to watch ballroom dancers sway around the floor moving in tandem with each other. That is not an accident. They might be smiling but you know they have put in many hours to make it look elegantly easy. They don’t even step on each other’s feet. There might be some sore toes in their shoes, but it doesn’t stop them. That’s our goal for relationships. Friends, family members, colleagues, neighbors and even those unknown humans we come into contact with are all included. We are in relationships with more folks than we think about. If we thought about them too much, we might freeze thinking that our actions aren’t the exact right ones.
Can you hear the music
How we interact with the humans in our life provides many chances to get things right. Granted, some of our early relationships ended up being more difficult than we anticipated. But they can still be filed away as lessons. Looking back at them as neutral helps to accept being involved to some extent. We don’t like to admit our flaws, but they are really the way to create those lifetime scars that remind us later when we were strong. Life battle scars can be read like maps. Time does tend to buffer any negativity we harbor from our first decisions. It is easier to admit immaturity when you are no longer immature.
Statute of limitation
Grab your journal and write down all of the relationships you have in life. Include that barista you like to flirt with, the kids’ teachers, your great aunt that you know has the secrets in the family, as well as the darlings you claim to love. There are relationships everywhere. Some for a day and some for a lifetime. You are the one who decides how long. You cannot be forced beyond your will to love anyone. You also can love those you are not even in contact with anymore. Don’t limit it to those who have passed away. Consider that first boy or girl friend. They started you on a journey of love also. If you hold onto that feeling of love, you will treat each successive relationship with the thought that it could remain with you. Sweet thoughts can remain sweet thoughts.
Change the music
If relationships are like dancing, sometimes the music needs to change. Long term love affairs, children that suddenly become adults, finally understanding the foibles of parents as they age and paying respect to how you think about yourself are all deserving of changes in tempo, memorized lyrics that can be sung together, new chords and even the creation of new steps. Your relationships will all mount up to how you loved others. Love can come into our lives as a light rain, a thunderstorm or a flood. Deciding when to use an umbrella, wear a wetsuit or wade into the deep end will be your call. Relationships are all yours. Gather them up and embrace them.
Is anything more important to you than your closest relationship? Who do you want to have a deeper relationship with?
