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If you live in a Western country, it is clear to see that something about the foundation of a health relationship is missing. Over the past few decades, it seems like the idea of having a healthy relationship is becoming a fallacy, that’s why so many of us keeping searching for it. But, the more that we search for it, the harder it seems to find because of these 6 reasons:
1. We are selfish.
Only in the past 6 years have I come to understand what this means because I, too, had (and still have) selfish habits. We live in a consumerist society which is catered to our needs. We spend a lot of time taking and getting; we hardly spend time giving back. We wait for the other person to give first before we give. We need proof that we will get love back before we can give it. This is is selfish. And, true love is selfless. Instead of taking and getting love. Give it first and see where it leads you to, you might not get it back but at least you know that you did your part and that you are open to truly loving.
2. We are obsessed with materials and looks.
We’ve been sold a lie that if you are unattractive, don’t have a lot of money or don’t keep up with the latest trends, then you are unworthy of love. This is a lie because we are all worthy of love. We are worthy of love because we came from love, vibrationally and from nature. A relationship is based on love but is nothing without love and respect; materials and looks are not in that equation. When difficulty arises in your relationship, love and respect will bring you through hardship, not materials and looks.
3. We look outside of ourselves for love.
If you think of a romantic movie, the main character(s) suddenly encounter love from someone else and the world changes. Suddenly, the person who was looking for love found it and their whole world looks better. You could argue that without the other person, they might not have encountered love. Putting a lot of pressure on the other person to fulfill this aspect of their needs. And, we carry this mentality into the dating world- with high hopes and dreams that we will find ‘the one’. What if I told you that you are the one? Would you believe me? Would you come to understand that the person that looks back at you in the mirror is (and always has been) the one. The more that you love yourself, take care of yourself and are there for yourself, you are able to love, care and be there for others. Because you have developed your own true understanding of love. Once you are there for yourself, you take pressure off of the other person to constantly be there for you. Two needy people in a relationship equals drama; two healthy and fulfilled people in a relationship equals the foundation of a health and thriving relationship.
4. When we are done with something, we forget about it.
Another extension of this consumerist society is that when we buy something, we use it up until it’s done and then we throw it out. This is how we treat people, too. I have found myself guilty of this because it’s deeply rooted in our conditioning. When we meet someone, they are the best person alive and we want to see them everyday until we move on to someone else. The problem with this mentality is that people are not replaceable. And, sometimes we move on to someone else because we are fed up with the first person only to find out that we were the ones with the problems, which we could’ve resolved by staying with the first person, growing together, working on ourselves and making an effort to be a good partner.
5. We blame other people for our problems.
We are living in some challenging times, which doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It just means that all of us have work to do. Following the trend of blaming someone else for your problems not only creates a victim mentality but it makes you difficult to be around. And, when you are difficult to be around, you unwilling isolate yourself. Another problem with blaming other people for where you at in your life is that it develops a mentality that you are not responsible for your life. And guess what? A healthy relationship requires two people in it who take responsibility for their own actions and wellbeing. Who wants to be stuck with someone who continues to blame you when you get into an argument? An argument takes two people to argue and a healthy relationship takes two people to reflect and move forward with love and compassion towards each other.
6. We have difficulty being alone.
Until I was 23, I had always been in a relationship since I was a teenager. I decided to break things off with someone I had been seeing at the moment because I noticed that I had a lot of healing to do. A lot of the healing that I had to make was towards men, in general, because I found myself taking out all of my frustrations, hurt and anger that every man had done to me on the person that I was with. I was hurting our relationship because I was filled with rage and unforgiveness. I learnt that I needed to be alone in order to heal so that I could be a better partner for the next person that I was with. Yes, my former partner deserved me to be upset with him sometimes but (because of my issues) I took it to another level. Being alone helped me realize that I can’t mask my emotions behind someone else’s behaviour. If I ever want a healthy relationship, I have to come into it as the healthiest version of myself.