Late night thoughts on rubber ropes...

I'll try to be brief since it is 1am and I would like to get back to attempting to sleep, but I wanted to share these thoughts.

These thoughts are in regards to those little strings or lines that people imagine in their minds connecting you with those around you. They connect you to new acquaintances, to your family, to your friends. I would like to take it further though.

It isn't just a "string" - it's what I would like to call a "rubber rope" kind of like a super rubber band. And the better you know the person, the thicker it is. I consider it like a rubber band because these aren't just ropes that can be cut and dangle away. These are relationships, and relationships have constant tension, no matter what they are. Sometimes those relationships are thick rope lifelines, which I would say would be the ropes connecting me to my parents and my relationship with my Savior. I need the tension so that when I ask, they can pull me up with their love and their words, when I may be sinking in the trials of life. Or they're just a simple thin rubber rope, probably connecting you to a good friend, and you can tug it back and forth, testing each other, playing with each other - I don't know. Just think RELATIONSHIPS.

Now I come to the other side of these "rubber" ropes. The better you know a person, the more "tight" you get, the tighter that rubber band gets pulled. Have you noticed that it is with the people you love most that you can have the most tension (or should I say CONtention?)?

Here's my main point. Imagine that rope gets cut. Someone makes a mistake or choice which removes them from those relationships. With a simple snip, they cut all those rubber relationship ropes. What happens when you let go of a tense rubber band? The person on the other end gets a painful snap. The bigger the rubber rope, the more tension, the bigger the snap. And remember, all of your relationship ropes have at least some tension, so everyone that gets cut gets a little snap.

I was pondering why the action of someone I barely know anymore could cause me to cry myself to sleep at night. It's because that person cut the ropes connecting themself to me, my family, and their family. All people I love. We all got a little snap from that. And even though it seems confusing and I don't understand why, something that barely affects me really hurt me.

You never know who your choices will affect. That can have an up-side and a down-side. On the one hand, some decisions you make can affect others for the good that you will never know about (life's cool like that). And then on the other hand, you never know what one choice will seriously hurt people. Obviously, you can't control how others react to your choices, but it really should make you rethink some stupid decisions.