A relational perspective on the development of self and emotion

Begin with two premises. First, psychological experience always implies a connection, a relationship: with another person, with cultural tools or language, or with the natural environment. Life is a network of relationships. Second, psychological experience is always dynamic and changing. The simplest visual perception requires a change, either in a movement of the object or a movement of the eyes, head, or body. Thoughts and feelings fluctuate in a continuous pattern of change. These patterns of change themselves change as people develop. Life is a series of changes. On the other hand, part of psychological experience is a sense of one's uniqueness (the self) and a sense of one's permanence through time (identity). How can this occur? How can people have a sense of themselves and their stability over time if psychological experience is fundamentally relational and dynamic?