Maybe I Don’t Know You Like the Back Of My Hand
Long-term relationships can be wonderful. Whether it’s your best friend, sibling, business partner, or lover, having a relationship that lasts for years, decades, or over the course of a lifetime can mean trusting that that person cares deeply about you, will remain with you, and knows you deeply. They’re the person that can watch you walk into a room and within 5 seconds know something isn’t right when everyone else thinks you’re just fine. You can give them a look or say a couple of words and they know you want to leave the party instantly. Being known so well, and knowing another so well, is a wonderful experience.
However, this kind of intimate knowledge can also really have its pitfalls. Feeling like we know someone so well can lead to making assumptions about the other, and assumptions can lead to inaccurate interpretations, resentments, strife, and boredom in relationships.
For example, while it can be wonderful to feel like you can easily read the expression on a loved ones’ face, we might, in fact, misread their facial expression or body language. Additionally, when we assume that our loved one is attuned to us and therefore must know how we feel about something it can easily lead us to resentment that may not be based in truth. Also, if we assume we know what our loved one wants or needs we can miss the mark on what they…
