Let’s talk about love.
Can you remember how many relationships you were in before the one you are in right now?
We are social creatures who begin to show personal interest in others from an early age. When romance is possible, we try and fail, learn from it, and improve with experience. Relationships form and crumble. Young people and old folks fall in and out of love in a perpetual quest for satisfaction and happiness. They do not stop until they have settled down with someone.
If you were in a long-term relationship before or are in one now, what made this person stand out to you from all those who came before them?
Dating is a big deal to many, something they invest a great deal of time, energy, and money in. It is a big business too, ushering scores to the coveted state of being in a stable, long-term relationship. This status carries a host of benefits that are harder to obtain for single people: shared living responsibilities, ready companionship, raising a family together, and affordable sex. Keeping oneself in this state requires constant efforts and attention to detail. Those who trust a ceremony to keep their marriage for eternity soon find it lacking. Much like other complex systems, relationships require constant maintenance, smoothing bumps, addressing squeaks, and removing any threats that could derail it off course.
The longer a relationship progresses, the more challenges it meets. It is only natural for people to grow and change with time. It is imperative for both sides in a relationship to mutually, continually, and respectfully adjust their direction to best secure the health of their union. This goal compels both sides to contribute equal and full amounts of attention, care, and dedication to the effort, which never ceases. Both sides on that bridge must keep constant and effective watch for oncoming obstacles, discuss, agree on, and implement a good navigation path, and secure safe sailing. There are no passengers on this journey, only co-captains.
Bon voyage!