When I think of all the wonderful people who have passed through my life. I sometimes wonder if they got as much out of knowing me as I got out of knowing them.
Obviously, there are some exceptions to this experience. I have run into an occasional jerk; these are people who for whatever reason were not in harmony with me, nor I with them; whether that was my fault or their fault, we would have been better off had we never met or interacted. Though I refer to them as “jerks”, they probably had the same impression of me.
I guess the basic premise is that our lives revolve around each of us individually. The rest of the world is seen and evaluated through the prism of our own individuality. I guess that in this regard it’s not inaccurate to say that I’m the center of my own universe, as you’re the center of yours.
I think of the fulfillment I experience out of relating with my wife my children and my grandchildren. I hope that each of them gets as much out of our relationship as I do.
Especially for those who have gone before me, I hope that knowing and interacting with me was a positive experience for them on their journeys through life.
In a mature adult relationship, the emphasis should be not on what the other can do for me, but on what I can do for that person.
I would hope that the people I, through fate, interact with would come away from our interaction more fulfilled because of that experience.
For ongoing relationships we should try to make each day we interact with someone the best day of their lives.