The 3 Circles of Life. A Psychological profile of Society.

The smaller the circles of one's life, the greater the perceived lifetime fulfillment becomes.

The Circles of our life determine how much of our dreams are fulfilled.

There are only three (3) circles of life that each of us travel in.

We move easily from one circle to another. And most of us quickly learn how to successfully intermix them all, simultaneously.

They are:

• 1. The Family Circle: We are born into this circle without personal choice

• 2. The Circle of Friends: Made through our personal choices of those most compatible to ourselves.
• 3. The Work Circle: Those who surround us at work out of necessity

The "Family" circle is separate unto itself since the ties that bind us together in this circle are by blood connections. It can consist of family members that are also good friends, and who also work with us in our employment field.

The "Friends" circle are those we choose to allow to enter into our private lives, personal dreams, and who share our basic thoughts, beliefs, and secrets. We classify them as someone who knows all about us, but likes us anyway.

The "Work" circle consists of those who share the same employment experience with us. They can include family and friends, and/or outsiders - but usually are limited only to the work experience.

Everyone we come in contact with influences us in one way or another.

All the members of these three circles are intertwined yet remain separate.

There are internal and external pressures associated with each circle.

Each of the 3 circles of life consist of 3 layers:

• A. The Core: The "self' being the center of all 3 circles

• B. The Inner Circle: The closest to our core consists of family members (parents, siblings, grand parents, aunts and uncles.

• C. The Outer Circle: includes in-laws, distant cousins, great uncles & aunts, and our network of friends, etc..

The dangers of expanding, or shrinking, the inner circles:

• Expanding strengthens by increasing numbers of family, friends, and work contemporaries.

• Shrinking numbers by death, or by choice, weakens the strength of the bonds between members. However they can also increase the bonds as well.

There are dangers, and threats, to be wary of as well, within these walls.

There will always be "liars" and "thieves" who are constantly testing our fortitude and who will try to control our lives.

Being the center of our own circles also brings more responsibilities toward others and how they will react to our personal attitudes, strengths and weaknesses.

The most important thing to always try to remember is that the "only things we can actually control are our own thoughts, actions and deeds - nothing else.

And instinctively knowing that trying to do so, is inappropriate and unacceptable.

Making a conscious choice to remain strictly within the 3 circles of our lives has a downside, or a 'caveat".

A warning that is often unheeded.

It allows for the perception that what we are, is all that there is to be.

In some instances that may be quite true; but to refuse to expand our worlds can cheat us out of wonderful new experiences of being able to actually learn and enjoy the diversity that the world offers.

It embraces the epitome of limiting one's bliss to nescience ( the lack of knowledge or expansion of awareness).

Can a life be "fulfilled" outside the 3 circles of life?

The answer is both Yes and No.

Yes, if those living outside the circles can reconcile the greater (expanded) outlooks of life, to the limitations of remaining within the circles.

By having this ability to become interactive, they remain separate entities, but shared by the person capable of accepting diversity as something to be cherished and valued and experienced.
People with this ability must be able to compartmentalize both worlds and learn to not let either one over power the others..

The caveat to embracing this choice as a life course, however, introduces the possibility of being rejected by those who still reside solely in your original 3 circles of life.

Rather than viewing it as "growth" or "expansion of knowledge" they often see it as being a traitor to tradition and move their loyalties to someone else, more in tune with their psychological "level".

Realistically, many people personally experience these transitions several times in their lives; as experienced by this writer; and they include, but are not limited to the following transitions:

--Being the first of a family to achieve a college degree was seen by family and friends as deliberately moving away from them and their chosen paths.

Thus changing forever the Circle of Family.

--After college, when starting to work as a "professional" it was perceived by friends, many of whom were considered "laborers", "factory workers", or "blue collar" classes, as moving beyond them .

Thus changing forever the Circle of Friends.

--Transitioning from a 'professional work" staff member to supervision, and becoming the "boss" of the other staff members, brought about further isolation from them as a class, or group of workers.

Thus changing forever the Circle of Work.

The transition from the work field to retirement can be a profound change in one's life as well.

The price of "transitioning" through one's life from one level to another can be rewarding, or deleterious, when one reaches retirement without the long term relationships with friends and family that most people experience throughout their lifetimes.

Fortunately the good usually outweighs the bad, and after all is said and done it is time to return to the old (and familiar) ''family'' and ''friends'' circles once again.

They too have grown and matured. We all experience the return to the same status of being equals once again in our old age.

We can peacefully return to our "roots" knowing that riches gained (the diamonds) were no more important to our lives than what we end up with (the glass).

For in the end, we can't take either of those things with us on our "Final Transition" - out of this world.

by: d.william