Relationships

 Relationship is another matter. The ideal marital relationship involves two people who freely choose to love one  another through all life's challenges.

Unfortunately and inevitably, relationships, unlike love itself, are far from ideal.

Relationships are plagued by every sort of negative human emotion. Our task in life—indeed, our privilege in life—is to love freely without attempting to coerce or control and without a guarantee about the outcome. That is the risk required in loving—offering ourselves with no demands or guarantees.

When we love someone, we do not necessarily live with or stay with him. We may find it unethical or impossible to live together. We may leave if she becomes abusive. Nonetheless, to maintain our own well-being, we do not stop loving. We simply make a painful decision to remain separate. We do not suppress the source of love within ourselves. This is the key to successful grieving—never to deny the strength of our love or the pain of missing our loved one.

Culled from Guilt, Anxiety and Shame by Peter R. Breggin

Abdulkareem,Taoheedah Kehinde