Recently, a friend pointed out that life is all about relationships. I remember that she clarified her assertion by pointing the index finger of her right hand at the cup of tea that I was holding between the palms of my hand as an example and said, “You have a relationship with your tea.”

When I think about it now, yes, I do have a relationship with my tea. It is a relationship that has been developed over many years. Each time I make it, the tea leaves have to boil in the water for about two minutes before I add milk. Many people who have taken the tea tend to think that it is too strong. Over time, I have developed a taste for this kind of tea and if I do not take a cup, I will feel that something is missing from my day. As far as my tea is concerned, it is easier to have than not to.

But it has not always been this way. There are days that I didn’t care whether I took tea in the morning or not. A day would go by without taking tea, and I would not notice. But I remember that these were the days when I wouldn’t be responsible for making my own breakfast. And I suppose this is the case with everyone else as well. That sometimes, they do not care much about something simply because someone else shares the responsibility for it. When we share a house with someone else, sometimes we leave things out of place simply because we know that someone else is capable of putting them back in their place. And at work, there are always arguments about who should have done what but didn’t.

But as my friend pointed out, life is all about relationships. And I will add that relationships are all about responsibility. If a person takes responsibility for anything – anything at all – that relationship will thrive, and it will be easier to live with that thing than not. So, what about our human relationships? If I take responsibility for the relationship that I am in, it means that it will be mine to make right. And as it always turns out, over time and with responsible nurturing, even the most difficult of human relationships become easier to be in than not to.