Relationships

I have been thinking a bit about relationships - how they are formed, why they are formed, what makes a good one. I am not talking necessarily about intimate relationships here - I am talking really general - friendships, acquaintances, colleagues. It is really interesting to me how we communicate on such different levels with different people. My relationships are so varied - each one of them seems to be founded by something slightly different. It makes me wonder why we "click" with some people and not with others. I have tons in common with some of the people with whom I have relationships, but on the other hand, some of my closest friendships are with people who have incredibly different backgrounds from myself. It doesn't seem to make a difference, there doesn't seem to be a formula. I think this is one of the great things about relationships - we can get along with someone so incredibly different from ourselves, and because of that relationship, explore and learn about so many different things that we might not otherwise ever be exposed to. I have people in my life who I have so little in common with and agree with so little about, and yet, I enjoy being around them so much and we never run out of things to talk about. Then I have people in my life who I can share so much with because they agree with me on so many issues, and that is a great confirmation for the values that I hold and beliefs that I have. There are people that I have come into contact with whom I have tons in common - common interests, common background, common goals - and yet, I can't relate to them, can't talk to them for more than a few minutes before we run out of conversation. And there are those that I would think are so different that we could never find anything to share, but we do, easily. This makes me wonder what is behind the magic of a relationship. What makes some people capable of connecting to each other and others incapable. There is some quality there that I can't quite get a hold of, or define properly. I want to say it is respect, but there are lots of people I respect that I can't relate to. I do think, however, that my life is so great because of the fact that I never know who exactly I am going to connect with. The array of people in my life gives it so much richness. It has also encouraged me not to overlook someone easily, because I never know what jewel I will find in them.