by Joan Inong

Created on: June 16, 2009   Last Updated: May 01, 2012

Living away from our loved ones is one of the most difficult situations we can go through in life. But, in some respects, living away from one another can make our relationships stronger. Because of the obstacle of distance, which can be a great hindrance to building solid physical relationships, living apart from our loved ones can create relationships that are just that much more special.

Many examples exist to show how living apart from our loved ones usually strengthens our relationships with them. For example, those who have entered into the military and have lived in other countries or other states will know how it feels to not have their families with them every day. Those who choose to go to out-of-state colleges or universities where they do not know anyone will have to live apart from their families most months out of the year.

These people are lucky that airplanes and cell phones and web cams exist. These can facilitate communication and help keep relationships alive. Yet, those who lived generations before could only wait for holidays or vacations or could only use land-line telephones and snail mail. Communication was slow and, as a result, they had to find other ways to keep their relationships strong.

But what can we learn from these "long-distance" relationships? Can we overcome the distance factor that is so crucial to forging strong relationships on a daily basis?

First of all, those who have experienced these long-distance relationships, whether with our parents, siblings, or partners, have built stronger relationships as a result of that distance. The distance encourages forbearance. Not only are the people involved a lot more patient, but they come to learn the value of their relationship. They learn to value other aspects of the relationship besides the physical, though they may cherish the physical aspect when they do get to see each other.

Can people overcome the distance factor? Eventually they do, but most of the time, it will nag their minds. They will feel it each day, but they will try to push it out of their minds. They will try to do other things to keep their minds focused and moving forward. Waiting, it appears, is not a human trait that is universal or easily learned.

Living away from our loved ones should not be considered a bad experience. It only serves to enrich our lives and strengthen our relationships. We should learn to appreciate these types of adversities and accept them as valuable experiences.

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