A long lasting passionate relationship is like two skilled dancers who already know how to stand on their own feet and how to dance solo.
They choose each other not because of a faint promise for that elusive perfect dance to come true or because one needs the other to keep dancing, but because they enjoy the unique rhythm that only the two of them can create and enjoy.
They adjust their steps without losing themselves or stepping on eachothers feet, support each other without clinging, respect the space each one needs to move freely, and refuse to force the other into a photo perfect pose they were never built to hold.
Over time the dance itself becomes more honest, intimate, playful, more alive. That makes it more pleasurable staying on the dance floor, even when the floor turns uneven or the music grows a little plain.
- Choosing someone deliberately from a place of self-knowledge and deep compatibility, not from loneliness, fixer traps, savior complexes, “who that person could become” or any other form of fantasy.
- Real love includes freedom, both for yourself and the other person, rather than attachment, possession, or needing someone to complete you. Both are freely choosing to be with eachother.
- Distinguishing the intense early state of infatuation (“falling in love with the idea of falling in love”, novelty, starvation of affection or even horniness) from the deeper levels of aligment, real connection and genuine love.
- If you only feel like “more of a person” when with someone and diminished when apart, that points more toward dependency than genuine love.
- Relationships are processes you actively do, not fixed things you have. Relating is a skill, because it is something you actively do, you can improve it deliberately through better communication, flexibility and humor, rather than waiting for things to magically change or blaming the other person.
- Relationships should get better over time, actively work on having a better comunication, being playful, seductive and passionate. What both persons are building together feels better than what any of them could build on its own.
- Rigid ideals of a “perfect” partner almost always lead to disappointment because no real person can match a static mental image. That also makes you judgemental of other people for not matching up to your unreachable standards.
- Flexibility is accepting that reality will differ from the ideal and adjusting accordingly, this is essential for lasting connection. Be for each other when someone is going through difficult times, love is easy when things are flowing, but its even more important when shit happens.
- Clear personal boundaries and aligned core values are non-negotiable. If someone its not a match its ok to move on. Real love does not require abandoning your standards, self-respect, or fundamental values to keep the relationship. A healthy couple respect each other’s boundaries (emotional, physical, sexual, etc.) and share enough core values (honesty, respect, kindness, etc.) so that the relationship can improve and blossom.