Give as much as you Take
by jloftus1189
I think the readings for this week are very applicable to any relationship that you would like to see grow. Whether it be a life long relationship like a best friend or a marriage, or a two-minute relationship between you and your partner during an improv exercise, if you want the relationship to be fruitful and enjoyable, you’re going to have to let your partner influence you.
We all have our own opinions and beliefs, and that’s fine, but one of the beautiful things about a relationship with another human being, is you get to have these opinions and beliefs challenged. If, say, you and your partner are given the topic of flying an airplane in a short improv skit, and your initial opinion of how to start the scene is to merely turn on the engines and fly away, you might be taken aback when your partner takes control of the scene by running through the mandatory checklist every pilot goes through before taking off (especially if your partner actually has flying experience).
The point is to honor and respect the person you are developing a relationship with, to treat their opinions and beliefs as equal to your own, and to make an effort to give in to the other person’s will just as much as you take.
-Jason
educ95si 
and how about giving MORE than you take? when would that be desirable or undesirable?
Though I could say a lot about this, I’ll just bring up that the “ethic of fairness” is one way to approach a relationship or situation, which is highly emphasized in our individualistic and freedom-based culture. While certainly better than an “ethic of selfishness” — there are other options besides/beyond fairness… perhaps.
I really liked the way you related long-term relationships with “two-minute ones” … it creates an image in my mind of a spectrum of relationships all of which at the core require us to treat our “partner” with our respect and attention. It really blows out the meaning of the term “relationship” way beyond the confines of what people take it to mean. Really enjoyed reading this post.