I believe relationships are provided to us in order for us to grow. One of the great ways in which this takes place is in the way I get to treat them.
It seems that I get the opportunity to treat them the way I wish I had been treated at some point. This doesn’t have boundaries in masculinity or femininity. This doesn’t have boundaries on age.
When I was a child I missed out on some emotional and presence. In my relationship with my children and other children, I’ve been able to give that to them, which in some way it heals the child state within my heart.
As my children grow older I get to embrace them, councel them, and treat them the way I wish I had been treated back then.
When I interact with others, I give them the advice I wish I had gotten at some point in my younger years.
When I get to love my wife and treat her like a queen, I heal those parts of my past when I didn’t love myself and I didn’t treat myself the way I should have.
Maybe I’m helping another the way they’re helping me, who knows. This is a very odd way to looking at relationships, yet one of the healthiest ways I’ve ever heard of.
I can see that when I get upset at others or when I get frustrated, it is a reflection of mine own self, and my not being clear on things and becoming frustrated and/or upset at myself.
I observe that this effect applies uniformly across all relationships. My looking at relationships through this lense should keep me in track with treating folks the way they should be treated.
I can see I treat my siblings the way I’d like to be treated, my mother, the way I would like to be treated as a parent, my peers, and so on.
I can now truly see how much more I should do by honestly and wholeheartedly putting myself in their shoes.
This truly gives validity to what people say and do being a reflection of their own persona.

Well said, Jimmy. What we are handed as children is not necessarily what we give to our own. That was a balance I had to learn, and it wasn’t an easy one. Good post.
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Thank you
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There is so much truth in what you have written here and I just had to thank you
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It is my absolute pleasure my friend. It’s definitely a beautiful way to looking at relationships. It also keeps us in check as to how to treat others
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