Relationship with another human being can be a wonderful thing and at the same time quiet puzzling. It is a source of happiness and also deep pain. Its effect in human psyche is immeasurable. It is the most fascinating topic for the Psychologists. There are all sorts of relationships out there. I want to focus one quiet peculiar relationship which I want to call awkward relationship.
This kind of relationship has a great beginning. The other person becomes your best friend. Everything is great. But then something happens in between. May be you go away to another place far from where the other person is staying. Communication becomes thin. Or unsaid conflict, misunderstanding and grudges brew inside. Or may be some third person seeds the negative attitude about that person. The feeling of comfort in your talk with that person becomes formal, cold and avoidant. You expect the other person to speak first and may be the other person expects the same from you.
There is no public spat or conflicts that other persons can infer to. It is insidious. You may not recognize the causes at the beginning. But retrospectively reflecting the reasons might be clear. The other feature of such relationship is that you cannot out rightly end this kind of relationship because you still value or have some feeling for that person. After the passage of time, you might want to reanimate the relationship. But it is difficult since the thread of relationship is faded or lost. You don’t know how to start. Or it becomes very awkward to speak to that person again.
Psychology says that for resolving any relationship problems you have to talk or express. But it is easier said than done. If it was that easy then the relationship wouldn’t have been awkward in the first place. After not speaking properly for 3-4 years you cannot just go and try normal conversation with that person. Or even to start a conversation you don’t know how to start.
‘Should I say sorry ?’ Oh that might be more awkward. What are you sorry about anyway? For not speaking ? Then why didn’t you speak ? The explanation is burdensome. Or ‘ Should I just start normal conversation as if everything was fine between you’. But this is not just being you. What should you then?
I am not offering any solution here. I have such awkward relationships in my life as well. I am trying to figure it out myself. I think for now we have to realize such relationships exist. And lets hope there is a chance to revert back to the good old days.
Thoughts and Reminiscence 