
Wellness
- Maintaining a healthy and loving relationship
Most
of us want to fall in love, be in love and
stay in love and magically live happily ever
after… as the story goes. We merge placing
our soul in the hands of the other expecting
that the relationship will provide all our
happiness. We even expect our partner to know
exactly what, when and how to provide this.
But
fulfilling relationships do not happen automatically
and they don't happen when the relationship
is driven by a need rather than caring.
If the relationship is going to grow we
must give it our time and attention. We
must each give to the other and not just
be focused on what it is that we need.
But
often the relationship gets puts aside as
the daily task of life take over. We barely
have time for ourselves with our life schedule,
work schedule or kid's schedules, let alone
making time to focus on and give to our
partner. We become distracted and tension
builds up each person feeling that his/her
needs for intimacy are not getting met.
Each partner is waiting for the other to
do something about it.
When
a long time has gone by without intimacy,
neither one wants to make the first move
toward the other. (I call this the big stand
off) Reaching out by either person does
not takeplace. I see this so often in my
psychotherapy office with couples who have
not taken responsibility and brought to
the relationship what was needed.
What
happens then is that there is a great deal
to clean up that has been swept under the
rug. I have to work at pealing away minor
and major conflicts, disagreements, hurts,
before I can get to the core problem which
is that each person's core need to be loved
and cared for is not getting met.
We
all recognize that we need to tune up our
cars, but we do not think of tuning up our
relationships. We
take more time with our homes, painting,
fixing, redecorating, reconstructing etc.
but we do not take the time with our relationships.Tensions
then build up.
As
with anything we aspire to, the more we
put in the more we will get back. Look,
for example, at a plant's life. Plants need
care in order to survive and grow. They
need water, fertilizer, light and air. If
we do not give them these essential elements
they will wither and die. Relationships
are no different, they need certain essential
elements in order for them to grow and proper
or they too may die on the vine.
Couples
need romantic time and fun together, they
need a sense of security and commitment, and
they need meaningful communication. This will
keep the spirit in the relationship and allow
each to open to the other to the point where
intimacy can occur.
Here
are some ways to achieve these essential elements
so you can maintain a healthy and loving relationship.
Integrate them into your daily life as best
you can, but start today.
1.Developing
romantic and fun time together. Set up
your schedule to include time together.
Be realistic with the amount of time your
set aside. It is very important to be
consistent.
If
you only have one hour a week, than do
not plan a full day. Consistency built
trust and connection lays the foundation
of a healthy relationship. Both of you
need to participate in deciding how and
when to spend time together.
2.
Developing a sense of security and commitment.
Security is assurance we feel when we
know someone is committed to love and
values us. It's a sense that whatever
conflicts or problems we have we will
be fully committed to finding the solution
and working together in partnership.
We
show our affection in little ways throughout
the day with a phone call from the office
or a hug when our partner returns home,
or leaving a loving note on his/her car.
Giving complements and expressing gratitude
when your partner does something for you
as simple as taking the dishes out of
the dishwasher goes a long way.
3.
Establishing meaningful communication.
We do this by being open and honest with
who we are and what we feel. We make request
instead of demands, we watch our tone,
and listen carefully to our partner. We
share our hopes and dreams. We do this
hopefully from a place of peace rather
than a place of fear or blame.
We
express our ideas and goals for the relationship
and our individual goals. We help to empower
each other to fulfill our full potential
and we work together to fulfill the potential
of the relationship. Empowering means
that we give encouragement support and
believe in the other, maybe before they
believe in themselves.
Changing
your relationship will take discipline, intention
and courage. Be patient with yourself, praise
yourself for all your efforts and listen to
your soul sing. As we love others we are connecting
with our true essence and being who we really
are. If relationships are based on getting
our needs met instead of by caring they are
not likely to bring happiness.