Learning about Love in a relationship
Being in a relationship isn’t just about getting married and having kids. It’s about love and companionship. However when you were growing up thats probably as good an explanation you got for men and women being together. The old birds and the bees story. Of course as we mature, we soon realise that is not the case but we are still none the wiser in the ups and downs that being in a relationship can bring. You will have so many questions, is he the one? Is this just physical or is this love? None of the more popular sources that people seek advice from seem to help either. With the abundance of happily ever after romantic movies and music videos. Over the next few paragraphs I will disect two very common views about finding the right person for a relationship. I have chosen two entirely different tradtions but both show the importance of not following any rigid structure about how to make your relationship work.
The Soul-Mate Relationship
The idea that there is a person out there that you are meant to be with has been around for many years. This soul mate concept is basically the idea that you are one half of a soul and the other half of this soul is out there in someone else, your soul mate. Eventually, the two will meet and become one. There can be some drawbacks to this notion. Especially given the fact that no relationship is endless. However some have the view that the whole idea of finding your soul mate can lead you to understand yourself better and this to me is the most important part of the concept and where the true benefits lie.
The Arranged Marriage Relationship
Another popular tradition, especially in Asian culture is the idea of arranged marriages. Here, unlike what some people think, all parties involved have given their consent. This is often confused with forced marriage. The idea is that you will grow to love one another over an extended period of time together, rather than datng and falling for someone. There are of course some drawbacks here too, especially since sometimes parents motives for choosing their childs partners are not entirely in their childs best interests and more like family politics. There are also some advantages. Communication between family members regarding the marriage can often lead to a great deal of understanding of how relationships can work and also the whole notion of love growing in the relationship eliminates any chance of disappointment at a lack of romantacism.
Gathering information from these relationships
Hopefully, you aren’t now more confused than when you began reading this article. What we can learn from these examples is that we need to challenge our assumptions about what defines love and relationship. Too often, the movies and pop songs present romantic love as the only way in which a healthy and happy relationship can develop. Yet, when we look at different cultures and religions, we can see so many different varieties and experiences of love and relationship exist, which have facilitated millions of successful relationships. If we can open our minds to these different perspectives, then perhaps we could begin to let go of many expectations which can sometimes leave us feeling that we are somehow missing something from life.