Life's Tough Relations

It's a well known fact that relationships are the true basis to life, love allows people to prosper and without it they suffer. People cling to love like a leader desperately holds onto power; the moment it breaks down, the feeling of an entire country caving in is a nagging presence... Life begins and we take everything for granted. A gang of personal servants wait on your every need and even though their job is challenging they just can't get enough of your tiny chubby baby face. Without their stamina and fortitude our existence would be futile. As we journey through those initial few years of school, friendships come and go. A new 'best friend' arrives every week who we claim we simply can't survive without! Arguments arise over the possession of a Barbie Doll and you suddenly become defensive when your favourite teddy bear is insulted for losing his eye. Life was carefree and innocent, and at this point relationships were viewed as a mushy movie scene that you avoided watching. Everyone can recall a moment in their lives when they were majorly embarrassed, while watching a romantic scene with their parents. Don’t lie...we all did it! Your daily routine stayed monotonously ordinary and your family were always there, ready to fight your battles. It was a guarantee. Without even realising it, you had just laid the basis to one of the strongest relationships a person can obtain in their entire life. The bond of a family can withstand war, natural disasters and long distance separation. As children, thoughts such as these don’t even enter our mind, it’s only as we get older that we realise the importance of strong relationships.

The truth about it is this, until we have lost somebody close to us or felt threatened by loss, every relationship we hold is taken for granted. I understand that there are people who will completely disagree with me, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and ninety percent of the time it all depends on life experiences. The horrific agony and shock of losing a loved one transforms your view of life. Suddenly those around you become a vital life-support, and we realise how crucial their presence is. I’m not referring to the loss of your childhood teddy bear (although that can be devastating), parents separating, friends falling out and the death of a family member or friend forces us to change our lifestyle, and adjust to the circumstances. I’ve often considered how different my life would be if I had different friends. Would I be a different person? Would I enjoy life as much as I do now?

There’s no denying the fact that everybody loves the prospect of meeting someone new. The start of any new stage in your life can be filled with endless possibilities and uncontrollable joy; especially a new relationship. This new beginning is also known as the 'Honeymoon Period', the brief chapter when that special someone holds no faults and their 'Godly grace' seems fit to beat the holy man Himself. Next, the 'Realisation Stage', what once seemed to be a halo has turned into flaming horns and you're suddenly convinced every irritating gesture is aimed towards you. It happens every time no matter how hard you attempt to avoid it. Although, this aggravating era is limited if we can simply reverse time...OK, maybe that's not quite possible, but reminding yourself of the qualities that attracted you to them in the first place is always helpful! It's quite a sombre situation to see such an overwhelming amount of people who give up on a relationship due to a breakdown in communication. This seems to be the fashion in the modern day world, moving through relationships hungry for happiness afraid of disappointed.

As we grow up, we soon realise that it's less important to have lots of friends and more important to have real ones. 'Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learnt the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learnt anything.' - Muhammad Ali. As said by the great man himself, friendship is not something you simply learn overnight. It takes a great amount of effort and commitment. It's a bond, that if strong enough, can withstand distance and time. Everyone has a friend they'll know until the end of time; connected by a mutual bond of trust that bares no limits. Friendship is one of the fundamental relationships in our lives without which we simply couldn't function.

Sometimes relationships cause more disasters that they’re worth. We often hold onto people that we know will never change. It's difficult to comprehend why; is it out of fear we won't find someone else...or is it because we'll miss them when they're gone. I've never quite grasped the functioning of the brain, or the thoughts that lead us to convince ourselves of a certain 'idealistic' way of life. There's no doubt that this situation frustrates me on so many levels. One must realise that life isn't set out to torment and aggravate you, so holding onto someone who will do just that, will ruin your chances of ever finding happiness. I'm sure at this point my words sound like a preacher's tips to life, but I honestly believe a relationship can only grow from a strong foundation.

So, I hear you ask, what are the most important steps to a strong relationship? I honestly don't know the real answer to that question, but I do know that I have the ability to maintain long term friendships and sustain family life. Reviewing these relationships, I've come to the conclusion; Forgive people and move forward, always be loyal, stay in better touch with those who matter to you and pay attention to who you're real friends are. Relationships are the true basis to life, without them life would be meaningless.