Why Don't I Like That Person?

Whilst out driving yesterday I saw five goats and a gorgeous dog happily together in a small paddock. I was delighted to see this odd combination together and mentioned it to my passenger with a smile. He said that the dog was one of a breed specially bred to be part of the goat ‘family’ and there to protect them. Hmm, I thought, with a little scepticism perhaps showing on my face.

He must have noticed my lack of belief in his information because when I got back to my office I found an email from him with a link to ‘livestock guardian dogs.’ Apparently dogs from a few different breeds are raised to care for and protect different types of stock, in this case, goats.

Yes I did phone him to apologise for my lack of faith in his knowledge base, he is after all a scientist so seems to have a vast array of usually useless information which he loves to impart (if he is reading this, just kidding – of course your information is never useless)!

Anyway that got me thinking about strange animal relationships that we often hear about, different types of animals being encouraged to foster babies from other species and raise them aren’t an uncommon occurrence. The oddest pairing I have heard of is a dog and elephant that appear to be the best of friends.

It seems that human beings also pair up in what sometimes seems an odd union. Not just the pets’ people choose but also their partners, maybe the old adage that opposites attract is more common than we think. I started taking more notice of the people around me and did find that it was sometimes difficult to see why people were attracted to one another in the first instance.

I don’t just mean physical appearance, although that is an easy one to notice without knowing the personalities of the people you see. I have friends who I really enjoy being with but know that we are very different in our likes and dislikes and also personalities. Maybe we need some who compliments us, and we them, for example the talker and the listener, the joker and the person who laughs at the jokes. Perhaps also the vibrant, energetic person needs a quieter friend or partner to keep them a bit grounded at times.

I have often pondered what makes us like some people instantly, take a while to warm to others and actually feel an instant dislike to someone else. One of my old tutors would have firmly stated that it is all to do with experiences we had when we were younger and we transfer those feelings onto people we meet who remind us of an event or person from our past, often very sublimely.

Someone who believes in re-incarnation would say that you have known the person in a previous life and had either a good or bad relationship with them, the feeling of love, like, admiration or animosity are carried over into this life.

Whatever the reason is I am very pleased that my partner and I have quite different personalities as I believe we complement one another and he certainly does keep me guessing and can still surprise and shock me. When we first met he wasn’t physically ‘my type’ at all, but once we got chatting I felt a lovely warmth toward him and a feeling of kindred spiritedness between us. Fortunately he felt the same toward me otherwise I wouldn’t be using that meeting as an example!

Now just let me end this blog with a quote to ponder if you are waiting for your soul mate or feeling discontent with what you have;

“We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.” Tom Robbins

The Wonder of Laughter

Having a good sense of humor and enjoying a good laugh are powerful tools to ensure that your mood and emotional state support good health. Laughter is an incredibly powerful antidote to relieve stress, pain and conflict; it also helps to keep you grounded, focused, alert, lightens your burdens and helps to keep you connected to others.

Did you know that a good hearty laugh can actually relieve physical tension and stress and leaves your muscles relaxed for as long as 45 minutes afterwards? It is great for your health, including increasing blood flow which improves the function of blood vessels – great for your heart. Laughter also increases immune cells and decreases stress hormones, it improves your resistance to disease by increasing your infection-fighting antibodies. And then there are those wonderful ‘feel good’ chemicals the body produces called ‘endorphins’ that are released into your body when you laugh.

There is definitely a link between laughter and good mental health, it is impossible to feel angry, miserable or anxious when you are laughing. Laughter makes you feel good and helps you keep a positive and optimistic attitude even when life is difficult or disappointing. It also helps you see things with a different perspective, and helps to make you feel a little more rational and less overwhelmed.

Laughing with others is a fabulous and effective way to build friendships, strengthen bonds and keep relationships strong. Laughter can help to heal hurts and resentments, settle disagreements, encourage spontaneity, release inhibitions, foster emotional connections, and unite people during difficult times.

Phew! A lot of great reasons for us to laugh more, I need a healthy dose today so I am meeting a friend for a laughter filled lunch. 

You might want to check out the Entertainment page on my website for more things to inspire you to laugh;
http://www.reallifebalance.com/entertainment/entertainment.html