1 post tagged “expiration dates”
How are you with expiration dates?
Do you honor them faithfully? Do you think you have some nutritional wiggle room? Life is rife with irony, isn't it? I will not hesitate to dispose of food items that are given a life expectancy time stamp. I won't take the risk that something is not going to harm me. I assume if I dare eat beyond that date, any sickness is on me.
Why don't our relationships come with that same warning stamp?
- This friendship is perishable. Please enjoy by 1/31/09.
- Boss love will expire on 12/15/12
- For best results, terminate relationship by 8/01/08
Think about how much simpler things would be if upon meeting someone, you could fold back their collar and determine just how long they'll be good for you.
Question is...would you honor it if you knew it?
I suppose people do come with expiration "flags." Signs and behaviors that feel familiar in either positive or negative ways. Perhaps the best way to determine suspected shelf life, is to watch carefully...note carefully what feelings you feel, when you've felt them before and what they wound up revealing in time. A severe stomach cramp? Maybe a warm full, happy sensation of fullness? Sometimes it is you, sometimes it is them...but the fact that you are reminded is what's most relevant.
Perhaps the closest thing to an expiration date we were given, is our own sense of history. When something feels like you've done it before (and it didn't go well the last time), perhaps that's all the expiration date you need.
I think I've done all the history repeating I want to do. Best be sure, in all my interactions, I'll be mindful of the expiration date from here on out.
