Intimacy
doesn't just happen. As much as we all would like to have a best friend, a
lover, a partner, we have to first go through the six stages on the highway of
connection toward every kind of meaningful relationship.
Stranger:
a person you just met recently, have not spent much time with and don't know
very well.
Acquaintance:
a person you know casually, most likely through other friends, or possibly from
work.
Buddy: a
person you know superficially and spend time with when mutually convenient but
not necessarily because of mutual caring. This is someone from the office that
you might go out with after work, or a buddy with whom you would go to meet
other people, or someone you are in the process of getting to know better.
Companion:
a casual friend with whom you have a low level of commitment, and with whom you
spend time doing some particular activities, which are sometimes more important
to you then the person himself. This could be a tennis partner, a shopping
companion, a skiing buddy or for some people even a sex partner. This could
also be someone who is on the way to becoming a real friend.
Friend: a
person with whom you associate for the purpose of mutual support and enjoyment.
Someone you regard highly and for whom you have affection and respect, which is
reciprocated. This person is more important then the activity which you may
share.
Intimate:
a person with whom you have a loving, caring friendship and who has proven
herself to have your best interest in mind. Someone you can trust with your
inner most vulnerable self and who you know will be there tomorrow for you if
they can be.
You may
notice that once you begin to think about where to place a certain person in
your life, you will take into consideration how close you feel to that person,
how good a friend that person is to you, how much you value your relationship
with that person, and how much that person contributes to your life.
