Curious about Relationship(s) - What Kinds Are They, How Are Yours, and How Important Are They?

“When you make a commitment to a relationship, you invest your attention and energy in it more profoundly because you now experience ownership of that relationship.” - Barbara de Angelis, American writer

“Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” - William James, American philosopher

When I chose “relationship(s)” for this blog’s theme, I was basically thinking about relationships with people – how to develop good and lasting ones. I was remembering that people will buy your services and products when they know, like and trust you. And, yes, I still will focus my energies on people relationships, but ...

When I started to check out the huge number of quotations about relationships, I found a whole different approach than I had anticipated.

There are relationships to objects, like:
“At this moment I do not have a personal relationship with a computer.” - Janet Reno, American public servant

And to audiences, like:
“I think of my relationship with any audience as a love affair. It lasts only a little while but I always look forward to a happy ending. For both of us.” - Dick Shawn, American actor

Or critics:
“I've never had an easy relationship with critics. I hold a lot of homicide in my heart. If this was another time, I'd be packing a piece.” - Jim Dine, American artist

Or strangers:
“Driving a cab is not really a nurturing type of relationship. You take people and they tip you, they may not tip you, you don't know their names, they don't care about you, you don't care about them.” - Pam Grier, American actress

Let’s examine some thoughts about personal relationships:

• “It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship.” - Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman
• “Our relationship was cursed by the fact that we agreed on everything.” - Elia Kazan, American director
• “I spend a great deal of time with the President. We have a very close, personal, loyal relationship. I'm not, as they say, a potted plant in these meetings.” - Dan Quayle, American Vice President
• “I have relationships with people I'm working with, based on our combined interest. It doesn't make the relationship any less sincere, but it does give it a focus that may not last beyond the experience.” - Harrison Ford, American actor
• “My relationship with "Pollyanna" is a very personal one, because Pollyanna got me through my childhood.” - Eleanor Porter, American novelist

And, back to relationships with professions, the spiritual and a plethora of ideas:

• “The relationship of the toastmaster to speaker should be the same as that of the fan to the fan dancer. It should call attention to the subject without making any particular effort to cover it.” - Adlai E. Stevenson, American politician
• “The relationship between press and politician - protected by the Constitution and designed to be happily adversarial - becomes sour, raw and confrontational.” – Roger Mudd, American journalist
• “The relationship between a manufacturer and his advertising agency is almost as intimate as the relationship between a patient and his doctor. Make sure that you can life happily with your prospective client before you accept his account.” - David Ogilvy, American businessman
• “If you're doing an interview, you need conversational tension. After you talk to them, you're not going to have a relationship with them, they're not going to like you, they're not going to be your friend.” - Chuck Klosterman, American critic
• “Relationship is a pervading and changing mystery... brutal or lovely, the mystery waits for people wherever they go, whatever extreme they run to.” - Eudora Welty, American writer
• “It is only when we no longer compulsively need someone that we can have a real relationship with them.” - Anthony Storr, English author
• “Spiritual relationship is far more precious than physical. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is body without soul.” - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian leader

Here are a few more for you to think about and chew on. I know that this topic has opened my mind to many new ideas and challenges:

• “In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.” - Wangari Maathai, Kenyan activist
• “The relationship between press and politician - protected by the Constitution and designed to be happily adversarial - becomes sour, raw and confrontational.” – Roger Mudd, American journalist
• “The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don't mean doubt of his powers or hesitation in speaking his opinion, but merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what he can do.” - John Ruskin, English writer

Do let me know what you think and what relationships mean to you. And, have a wonderful week filled with meaningful relationships!