What juggling has taught me about relationships

[pozorvlak]

I used to think that relationships were like teapots. Not, as wormwood_pearl suggested to me when I first mentioned this to her, because good things come out of them: nor because they start out hot and gradually cool down. No, I thought relationships were like teapots because when you first get one, it's perfect and whole, but then you drop it, and it gets

Comments

[steerpikelet]

Hmm...as am currently dating a very geeky juggler, I'm not sure. I think I like this, but then again I think I've been thoroughly in the teapot camp so far. Being that I prefer to make tea straight from the bag; whenever I've had a teapot, I've only dropped it and then I don't want another one, I'm scared I'll drop that too. or it'll drop me. :)

[pozorvlak]

Well, if you will persist in juggling with unevenly-weighted and fragile props...

[terpsichore1980]

I once heard an analogy used that we all juggle (metaphorically) all the time, some of the balls, like work, are made of rubber, you can drop them and they will bounce. Some, like your family, are made of glass. Assuming the surface you are juggling over is okay, you can drop them a few times and they might survive, but mostly if you drop them, they will break. I thought it was an interesting analogy, but then, I generally think that if the relationship is good enough, then you can sometime pick up a ball that has been dropped, as long as you don't let it rest on the ground too long. Dropping the ball very occasionally will be ok, as long as you are juggling the right kind of balls. After all, you wouldn't give a complete beginner thin glass balls and say, juggle those, now would you. In the same way, people who are fragile shouldn't be juggled by people who are inclined to drop.

[elvum]

Personally I think that humans and their relationships are extremely complicated, and models based on classical mechanics are likely to be poor analogies to their behaviour. :-)

[pozorvlak]

I think you've hit the nail on the head there, though I'm not sure than an analogy based on quantum mechanics would be any better :-)

[dynix]

Relationships take skill. Just like making a good cup of tea or juggling. And there will always be people who are annoyingly quick to learn how to do all of these things well. Doesnt mean you ever stop having to put the work in to do it properly though.