RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
To be alive as a human being is to be in relationships with others – parents, siblings, workmates, friends, etc. In these relationships we can be either self-centered or loving. In intimate relationships sexual maturity is the capacity
to maintain mutually respectful sexual relations. It can also mean the capacity for profound but non-sexual friendships irrespective of sexual orientation.
Self-centered: Taking… Getting
Using or exploiting another person who is weak, vulnerable or good natured for either pleasure or profit. This is abuse.
Giving
Striving for or contributing to the welfare of another person to the disregard of my own pleasure or advantage.
Loving: Sharing
Co-operating and communicating with another person or persons for our common benefit. The most complete relationship is a sharing or an equal
one. In the case of individuals who only have giving relationships but hold aloof from equal ones especially that of friendship, a good deal of the giving is probably a disguised getting (co-dependency.)