Each relationship has to face some tough conversations from time to time. These could be big decisions where you don’t see eye to eye with each other. They could be some unhealthy dynamics in the relationship that needs to be sorted out. Or a bad choice that one of you has made that has to be faced.
I recognise Love is an essential quality of being human – a Need. It is maybe even the most powerful driver and source of life energy available to us all. Some needs (food, air etc.) are necessary for mere survival. When we allow Love into our life we thrive, we grow and we can achieve so much more.
Love is more than a feeling. It is something we express or manifest through our words and actions. One way I like to picture it is as a flow of giving and receiving without any start or end. Like an infinity loop where there is no beginning and the giving and the receiving merge and love just flows.
When I tell my partner ‘I love you,’ it might mean ‘I feel some sensations or emotions right now that I’m labelling as love’. It's such a broad label used to convey a vast range of different feelings that it communicates nothing. 'I love you', could mean ‘I like you’ or ‘I am consumed with passion'?
Generally, I know my loved ones have positive intentions towards me. This means they usually do not go out of their way to make my life miserable. Usually. So why would they ever do it? I vhoose to believe my loved one is trying to say ‘LOVE ME’ just in a way that makes it unlikely I will hear that.
There are things I react to more strongly than others – my ‘hot buttons’. Don’t laugh, but examples that trigger my irritation are Mona putting the mugs in the wrong place in the cupboard or telling me where to park the car. Looking at these with distance, I admit they are possibly an over-reaction.
There is no universal model of a great relationship as we are all different. We all build our own marriages, families and lives and no two couples are the same. There is no single answer to this important question. Here is a compilation of some of their answers – and I added a few of my own thrown.
I know when I fell in love with my wife-to-be I found her highly desireable. I didn't need to look for ways in which she was attractive to me as they were so obvious and vibrant. In this period I also found myself attractive - it brought out qualities in me that I enjoy and value. I was at my best.
This week a poem. About Forgiveness. It is a poem that touches me deeply and captures exactly how I want to see forgiveness in the world. A way of forgiving that is beyond the beliefs of retribution, punishment and suffering we inflict on others. Forgiveness is something we do for ourselves. No more.
There is a common belief that successful relationships require compromise which means both parties gain something and give up something. It's an exchange of individual gain and cost so that the outcome is fair and balanced. We don’t need to try too hard to solve the problem. I know we can do better.
Mailing List
If you would like to get updates straight to your inbox, subscribe to our mailing list
The Connection Kit is a practical and fun way to bring you closer as a couple. Currently available in English, German and Romanian.
