Inside, Outside, Upside, Down

Absence does not necessarily make the heart grow fonder. And presence can cause conflict.

Good relationships are not accidental. They require maintenance and management. More than that they call for compromise, care and attention. They need balance. Balance can be difficult to achieve and even more difficult to maintain.

Ideally any connection with another individual should be approached with consideration and a giving attitude. It’s necessary to think first about what can be given before thinking about what can be taken.

But therein lies a problem. If one party is all giving and the other is all taking the relationship has little chance of sustainable success. Honesty in any relationship begins with being true to the person we know ourselves to be. The connection we have with ourselves needs to be strong if we are sincere about our need to connect to others. And no man is meant to be an island.

A starting point in kindness. Kindness to self is the pathway to kindness to others.

If we have a bad relationship with ourselves we can either accept and ignore or recognise and change. The choice is ours and ours alone.

We are all seated at the control panel of our own lives. What we do about it is up to the individual. But if we want to share then we first have to give. And each person decides their own capacity and limits.

Perfection is an ideal, an incentive, an unattainable dream. However we all have the ability to improve our own situation. Change on the outside is directed and powered by change on the inside.