By Lindsay Sauvageau

This week, a series of couples at the Lunenburg Senior Center talked about their relationships and the things, they feel, keep a relationship strong and healthy.

But when you put all of these concepts together - communication, thoughtfulness, a willingness to learn, honesty, patience, tolerance, laughter and compromise - you find a potpourri of qualities that every human relationship, romantic or otherwise, should possess.

Oh, if a rose could only smell so sweet!

In our day-to-day lives, how often do we remember to bring the best of ourselves into all of our human interactions, especially if these interactions are not with a loved one, especially when these relationships are based on anything but love?

Sometimes, not as often as we should.

For instance, when we have to wait in lines - we sometimes forget patience; when we are confronted by a sales associate that is anything but helpful - we sometimes forget tolerance; when we are angry over a bill discrepancy - we sometimes forget to communicate.

When, two seconds after a traffic light has turned green, someone behind us lays on their horn because we haven‘t moved yet, we rarely ever laugh and let it go.

When we share a kitchen space with co-workers, we sometimes forget thoughtfulness and leave a mess behind. Or we heat up our fishy lunches in the microwave even when it‘s been posted that we should not.

And how often do we consider it a learning experience when we want a service NOW, and can’t get it from someone, even if it is out of their hands?

How often do we remember honesty when we’re pulled over for speeding?

How often do we try to compromise when our boss asks us to work late, or work longer, or work weekends and holidays?

In the end, we forget these things most when we’re faced with adversity. Some people argue, ‘well, we’re only human’ but have you ever noticed how people seem to say that when they are trying to justify their actions?

When have you ever had to justify being a good person?

Because the truth of the matter is that we are not always cranky.

We don’t always fall under that unfriendly title of “Masshole.”

In so many ways, we prove that we do have compassion, that we do care for our fellow man. Just look at how many charities we give to, how many times we are volunteers, how many doors we hold open, how many thank you’s we give in a day and so on. From the big things, to the small, we do know how to ‘be kind and rewind,’ as it were.

But not all the time, and not when it matters - when strong emotions are involved, when the harmony of our work environment is at stake, when you have the power to make or break a person’s day just by treating them as we, ourselves, would want to be treated. Why?