A recent conversation with a friend of mine went spiralling down when he mentioned "I am tired of doing all the stuff. She just does not understand how much I do for her." and I responded, "Do you know how much she does for you?"

Barter trade was an age old means that was employed in the golden era when there existed a coincidence of wants. With increasing literacy and awareness of today's generation, it is not uncommon to see this applied to personal effects like relations. And while it has been coined differently and called a "Give n Take" relation, we all acknowledge that at the core; all this type of relation talks about is the age-old barter trade. But has it ever dawned that this system of valuation was/is inherently flawed? For one, the value of the trade is not based on any set guidelines that can be successfully measured with an unbiased approach.


The question then is "How do we arrive at a basis for evaluating the trade"? An extra serving of bread & Wine at the dining table can mean anything from satisfying a healthy appetite of the rich to sacrificing a days meals for the starving poor. In my entire wisdom, I will not even attempt to answer this question on this blog as there as as many possibilities as there are people sharing relations. It is for each one of us to figure out what system works best for us. The signs of a right approach will definitely include a weighted system that accounts for personal loss, combined gains, and lasting rewards.

But seriously... When did nurturing a relation become a business in the first place?