A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a friend who was debating whether to add a snarky comment to someone’s Facebook wall. He had gone to school with this guy years before, but hadn’t seen him since graduation. My friend decided to take the kinder route, reminding himself (and me) that he was probably expressing disdain for a person who “hadn’t existed” for 20 years.

I thought this was a pretty profound concept. How many times do we interact with people based on who they used to be? How often do we put aside expectations established years ago and see people as they really are? I know that I’m not the same person I was five years ago, or ten. And 20 years seems like a lifetime ago. Are you the same person? Why expect that anyone else would be the same?

George Bernard Shaw said, “The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew every time he sees me while all the rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.”

I wonder how much different the world would be if we were ALL sensible tailors? What do you think? Do your relationships change as people change, or do you find that you expect people to be the same? How do you accommodate changes in your friendships?