People, Land and Community

Building Relationships

In today’s fast and stressful hi-tech world, we find ourselves ever more isolated from one another and the time to build meaningful relationships is non-existent. Yet aren’t meaningful relationships the basis of all human existence from your significant other to your best customer, it’s what makes the world go round. So, what does it take to build a successful relationship?

Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer in their book, From Chaos to Coherence, tell us that it is not enough to apply care in your relationships but it is the sincerity behind the care that does it.

“Underlying the application of care in your workplace is sincerity. Without sincerity caring acts ring hollow. Sincere care is required to achieve a true service attitude with people. When care is mechanical or insincere, it causes resistance and reaction in others, undermining adaptability. Coworkers, family, clients, and superiors can tell the difference between required courtesy and sincere care (Childre and Cryer).”

Now let’s take this a step further and ask, are relationships only between people? What about the relationship between a service animal and its owner or even our relationship to the earth? If sincerity formed the foundation for care in “all” of our relationships, what would the world be like ?

What are your thoughts? (Please comment)

Works Cited
Childre, Doc and Bruce Cryer. HeartQuotes™: Quotes of the Heart. 2007. 10 11 2010 .

Comments on: "Building Relationships" (4)

  1. David Lominac said:

    And where does sincerity come from? It seems to be a strange mix of openness and feeling unfinished. If I am sincerely interested, then I should be open to being changed by my interest. But if I have already arrived, why would I change? So oddly “sincere care” seems to require an understanding that “you are as likely to help me as I you.”

    • Yes David, I agree with your comments! We need to have an interest in other human beings to develop a meaningful relationship. This interest implies sincerity and an opportunity for both parties to grow from the experience (relationship). Many times, I have heard my professors/instructors thanking our class for challenging them to be better educators. I believe successful relationships do require as you have said an understanding that “you are as likely to help me as I you.”
      Taking this a step forward, if we approach our care of Land (earth) and Community in this same way, are we not building a successful relationship where both are able to contribute to the success of the other? Thank you for your comment!

  2. These are truly impressive ideas in on the topic of blogging.

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