Permanent relationships

Have you ever heard someone say that they were looking for a permanent relationship? I look over my past and think about which of my relationships fall into that category. The longest-lasting relationships I can think of are with my siblings. I have friends who have had friends from childhood. The longest friendships I have began in college which still constitutes a substantial amount of time. My first significant relationship ended after almost seven years although I have friends who have been married for almost 50 years. Maybe what people are talking about are enduring, rather than permanent, relationships. The reality is that no relationship is permanent. Each relationship is bound by the time that it was meant to be. Some of what I thought would be my most enduring relationships with close friends or loved ones ended abruptly and without warning. In some cases it was simply time for each of us to grow in different directions. What was most important was taking the good from each of those relationships into subsequent ones. The permanence comes from what we instill into our current life that makes us a better person. What is the good that you have taken from past relationships that adds to who you are today?