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.