Honesty and Compromise

I've come to a realization.
It's something that I've really probably known all along, but I guess it's just now really sinking in.
And the realization is this:


Life sucks.

The end.




Just kidding.


It's that the single most important thing in any relationship, be it friends, family, lovers, co-workers, whatever are honesty and compromise. Ok that's two things, but they pretty much go hand-in-hand, I think. Honesty is a must, and with it comes communication. Sometimes even if you know there will be conflict caused by your honesty, you can't just avoid it and take it someplace else. You need to confront it head-on. You need to have your feelings heard, otherwise they will just sit in your gut and fester and ferment until you're ready to blow. And something will set you off. One day, someday, one thing, something, will set you off and you will just blow up. It will seem completely crazy to the other party involved, but it will happen, and they will sit there all the while wondering where all of this came from. How come none of it came up before?? You can't take digs at one another, causing emotional stress, and not confront what is really going on. If I'm willing to share my bed, my home, my life with someone, then there should be nothing but complete honesty between us. I should have nothing to hide. I wouldn't mind them knowing my passwords to things or reading anything that I've written. I wouldn't mind sharing everything and anything about myself with them. I would have nothing to hide.

That being said, I think there will always be instances where you have to make compromises. You have to make sacrifices, sometimes even sacrificing a part of yourself, to keep things balanced. Making an effort is what really matters. Listening to what the other party is saying, really hearing them, and also hearing what they're not saying. If someone doesn't like things a certain way, you have to respect that and allow them to stay that way. You can't change people. People have to want to change. Don't get me wrong, there isn't anyone in my life currently who I want to change, I'm just saying. You also can't change the way people feel about certain things, especially if it is a very strong feeling. You have to accept that person 100% as-is. There are no refunds in life. There are no do-overs. There is not a "reset" button. So proceed with caution and know that every little thing you do or that you aren't doing is impacting the people around, especially those closest to you.