From Teabags to Friendships

As a teabag in hot water slowly changes the clear liquid to a colored liquid with flavor, so acquaintances slowly change to friendships. I'm not saying all acquaintances morph into friendships. Absolutely not. There has to be a special ingredient. The teabag contains dried leaves which are the catalyst for the change. In the case of acquaintances, the catalyst has to be respect.

Once the teabag has done its job, other ingredients may appear, like sugar, milk or honey. So with the infusion of respect in the acquaintance relationship, other ingredients may soon appear, like appreciation, esteem, honor, recognition, and perhaps eventually love.

"So what?" you ask.
 
Well, I write this as a heads-up to people who are diligently searching for the perfect mate. If your process can be described as seeing the potential mate for the first time and immediately floating off into la-la land, forget it! The number of lasting relationships that start this way are minimal. Long term relationships morph over time fed by the qualities listed above. The qualities must be revisited often to keep the relationship alive and growing.
Infusion must be on-going.