The closer your relationship, the more you have to distance yourself.
Thus, it is more important for you to be forgiving about a neighbor's late-night party than someone who lives further away. You may suffer in silence, in order to a peaceful relationship.
Parents are in a similar position. The closer you are to your children, the more you may have to refrain from speaking up about sensitive issues. The alternative would be constant friction.
At work, the closer your relationship to your boss, the more you may have to refrain from passing judgment on crucial issues.
So, the concept of closeness is a double-edged sword. Closeness does not necessarily offer extra benefits or rights. To the contrary - it may reduce your privileges.
Read more articles about silence
Read more articles about psychology
Find out about the Jewish Psych Forum
Find out about other psychology-related forums
Find out about other Jewish and Hebrew forums
Are you required to read this webpage for a course? Do NOT print out the article. It is copyrighted.
Your exercise for this article is as follows:
Copyright © David Grossman. World rights reserved. This article may not be printed, forwarded, reproduced, or copied in any way or in any medium without written permission from David Grossman.
