Relationship Relativity

I’m sure we’re all familiar with Einstein’s theory of relativity; specifically that time can be experienced differently depending on the speed of the object.

That’s interesting, isn’t it? That two objects existing in this very moment can be experiencing this moment differently.

I recently listened to a talk on the pursuit of truth. And one of the ideas was that truth is contrived in a person’s mind. What can be true for one person can be untrue for another; think religion.

George Orwell’s book 1984 takes this a step further with his idea of doublethink. Someone can hold 2 contradictory thoughts in their mind simultaneously and accept both of them.

Think of another common statistic we all take for fact; the speed of light. We think of it as a constant, and yet it’s measurements have been recorded at different speeds!

Where am I going with this? I’m weaving the fabric of a reality where everything is relative. Everything. Nothing is a constant.

Our relationships with people; family, friends, strangers.

Think of the closest person to you. Not geographically, but emotionally. Your best friend.

Except they aren’t always the closest person to you, are they? Maybe over the recent past you shared the most amount of intimate interactions with them.

But what about that stranger you met by pure coincidence and spent an hour talking to. Someone you know you’ll never see again. In that hour, you can share your most closely guarded secrets without judgement or repercussions. No topic off limits. No preconceived notions or filters. No agendas. Just raw conversation. That’s a special person. Few people will ever get to know your mind. Your honest thoughts. For that hour spent together, there is no one as close to you as them. Few people will ever share the same level intimacy again. For that hour, they are the closest person to you. And it will remain so for as long as that conversation deeply impacts you.

That person - the closest person to you - changes constantly.

We crave that connection. At a certain point, our brains desperately seek that connection. It’s almost spiritual. It is spiritual.

This gorgeous painting we call life gets its color from these moments.