Family Relationships and Interaction (cont.)

The point is, perception is a gigantic factor in determining who is family, and our familial relationships and how people interact within those relationships. Case in point:

On my trip to my oldest sister's graduation in another state, I and my family had the opportunity to have dinner with relatives which we had not seen/talked to years. At first, it was uncomfortable. It wasn't long, though, before we all were having fun. It felt... good. It was surprising for me to discover I was more comfortable in that situation than when I normally am with my parents and siblings. Is that not, well, odd?

I believe that my perception of being alone and uncared for -- whether in fact true or not -- leads me to behave distant toward my family, most particularly my parents. The effect of this is that they treat me in the same manner because they are sharing back my perceptions. And my perception of the relatives allowed me to "let my hair down".

We have to be careful about what we let ourselves perceive because of the strength and power of perception to shape our "realities". If we are not cautious, we may allow those realities to be changed into something other than being based upon the true reality. And because of the warped actions brought about by unrealities, we force our environment to absorb the malperceivings and force the environment to become offkilter, too.