Hello, friends. Sorry I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks, but it’s been a little crazy here in my mind. I haven’t had many coherent thoughts regarding relationships due to some recent changes in some of my own close relationships. It’s been a bit of an emotional struggle, and may continue to be, but I have found that I can at least have coherent thoughts on relationships again. Thanks for your understanding!
As my brief silence has demonstrated, relationships are hard. Sometimes you have to choose between different relationships, which one needs the most nurturing. It’s not necessarily putting one above the other indefinitely, but rather putting one above the other for a moment in time. It’s putting one above the other(s) based on your own personal needs, and sometimes your friends’ needs, at that point in time.
Balancing relationships takes time, effort, and trial and error. It’s complicated because there can be a lot of people and emotions involved, on both your part and your friends’ part. We are people constantly in different kinds of relationships, and with so many personalities in the world we have to remember to think of both ourselves and those we care about.
The hardest part about having different relationships with different people is all the different needs we each have. You have all of these people outside of you that have different relationship needs from each other and from you. One close friend may need you, while you need a different friend at the moment. The trick is to balance the two, not focusing solely on those outside of yourself, but not focusing solely on yourself either. It keeps your relationships healthy and without bitter feelings.
Relationships take sacrifice, even if it’s only the amount of time we spend on them. And many times relationships require emotional sacrifice as well. We have to sacrifice what our wants and needs are for our friends’, and sometimes we need them to do the same for us. But the thing to remember is that it’s a give and take between you and your friend. If it’s all on one side, someone will start to feel slighted.
One way to avoid problems when it comes to these types of things is to develop a relationship that’s open, where you and your friend both feel comfortable sharing those types of thoughts and feelings with each other. Much of the time, this is all it takes to remedy the problem. If your friend comes to you and says she feels you’re not spending enough time with her, you can fix that and make her more of a priority. But if that friend doesn’t say anything to you, you may not notice, and bitterness can enter that relationship, bogging it down and creating even more problems.
Some of the hardest work in this aspect I have dealt with has been in recognizing the balance I’m holding onto with my relationships. Often, I see it more within my friends as they spend time with one another but not me. But at the same time, I know that it’s a two-way street. Both parties have to make an effort. Luckily, my relationships with these friends are open enough that they know they can tell me if they want me to spend more time with them, and vice versa. It’s a way to be honest and trust one another, and these are some of the closest friends I’ve ever had.
So if you’re struggling to balance relationships, don’t sweat it too much. We all struggle with it, and will continue to for the rest of our lives. Relationships aren’t supposed to be easy; they’re supposed to challenge you and help you grow into a better person. Learning to balance those relationships is an essential part of that process.
Have you ever had trouble balancing relationships? Were you able to work it out?
Feel free to ask me questions, and I’d love to hear your stories as well!
Voice Pianissimo 
What are your thoughts?