Hi funnygirl and everyone,

In Michelangelo Antonioni's film 'Beyond the Clouds' one of the characters says, "I fear that we are incontrovertibly ourselves from the moment we are born."

The message is clear: people don't change.

I think that people can change, with great moral effort, but it's not easy, and we still have to deal with our own natural temperament. If we meet a person who is gentle and kind, I think that they will almost certainly remain gentle and kind. Unfortunately the opposite also applies. There may be some 'road to Damascus' conversions, but they are not at all common. Generally it is hard work.

I think the best we can hope for is a little compromise on both sides of an adult relationship, with the acceptance that the other person is not raw material to be moulded, but a matured person in their own right. That is what respect is all about IMHO.

Interesting subject!

Cheers, M