Page 271 - C:\Users\STEVEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msoF8C5.tmp
P. 271

Ϯϳϭ




         3$57    -  /(&785(     -  7+( 32:(5 2) /29(


         Openness means being willing to communicate your deepest feelings. There can be no
         intimacy without conversation. The only way you can both truly communicate is to tell the truth.
         Truthful communication moves love partners and creates a condition of unity, love and
         satisfaction.

         For intimacy to grow in a healthy love relationship there can be no withholding; feelings - both
         positive and negative - must be shared equally between love partners. The act of withholding
         the truth is always potentially a lie.

         The energy required for the self-discipline of honesty is far less than the energy required for
         withholding. Your love partner and you are dedicated to the truth and live in the open, and
         through the exercise of your courage to live in the open, we become free from fear. Fear
         cannot exist whenever insight is valued above feeling frightened.

         Listen when she shares without making judgment. Your heart should always be open to hear
         what your love partner has to say.

         Someone said that it is possible to be together so much that we suffocate each other. Do not
         allow this to happen in your love relationship. Understand that love includes letting go when she
         needs freedom; holding her close when she needs care. Commit to creating space in your
         relationship when needed.

         Learn to cherish both intimacy and solitude. Never feel tied to each other.


         “Don't smother each other. No one can grow in the shade”. ~ Leo Buscaglia

         At the heart of love, there is a simple secret: the lover lets the beloved be free. You and your
         love partner require different mixes of independence and mutuality, and the mix is freely
         discussed and renegotiated from time to time when necessary.

         When two people in a love relationship are complete within themselves they do not experience
         the love they have for others as diminishing, detracting, or threatening to the love they share.
         They are secure within the relationship.

         Insecurities bring forth jealousy, which, in effect, is a cry for more love. It is within your rights to ask
         for more affection when self-doubts surface, however, the indirect way that jealousy asks for it is
         counterproductive. Excessive possessiveness and needy behaviour is inappropriate. Jealousy is
         the surest way to drive away the very person you may fear losing.

         It is an irony that the more possessive you are, the more love you will demand, the less you will
         receive; while the more freedom you give, the less you demand, the more love you will receive.
         Take great pleasure in watching your love partner be fully free and fully alive!

         Encourage each other to widen your circle of friends. Each seek to ever expand your horizons.
         Enjoy celebrating life together and with friends!

         Know that if you expect to be the only person who matters to you love partner you are setting
         yourself up for disappointment. As wonderful as true love can be, no one person can meet all
         your needs. Your love partner is, and should always be your very best friend, and she is not your
         only friend.
   266   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276