by mystic » Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:21 pm
The main problem is that today most people are not truly committed. Also most people lack a proper culture of what marriage is.
They think: "Let's try; it's an experience like another". And if something goes wrong, they can simply quit. But this kind of culture, only oriented to the complacency of the self, is a double sided sword. It happens that one is treated that same way he/she is thinking and then it hurts. Then, they start looking for alternatives, maybe in the Philippines. But, are they ready and mature for a real commitment?
I was one who believed in eternal marriage, but I divorced. My view shifted. Now, I believe that, if you have an ill limb that can take your life, you have sometimes to cut it. Sometimes surgery is necessary, but it is never the first option to follow. So in a marriage. If you find yourself beaten by your mate, abused in all manners... maybe I would question that marriage. However, one should keep his/her eyes very open since the beginning, to avoid those things to happen. It is not always possible to spot out a scammer... but it is possible to try at least. There are topics that make many scammers fade away at once and can aid in testing one's mate.
But is there a definite solution to a successful marriage? I would say that maybe there is one. I'll call it "scent of sanctity". If you consider your mate not just the object of your love, not just somebody special to treat the same like you, but you add an additional layer of sanctification, it can make the marriage holy.
I'll try to explain this with an example. A person listening to the performance of an orchestra usually "hears it as a whole". Psychologically, he gets one general idea of the whole, which can be a melodic line, a particular color or effect, etc. Our brain is not naturally multitasking, and can follow only one thread at a time. Instead, the conductor can recognize every single instrument when they are playing. He has a sort of "expanded consciousness" and can catch a variety of nuances that the normal listener cannot. His mind enters a sort of multitasking mode... and that comes simply with exercise.
So... love can work the same way. What do you feel when you have a pulse of love toward a person? Do you feel your heart beating faster and coming in your throat? Do you feel like an explosion of feelings and your mind becoming focused and only repeating "I love you"? That's like a burst of passion.
Imagine now instead that... "you place your mate on his/her deserved throne". You take care of every sentence, feeling, need of the other person, trying to sanctify his/her figure. Every time you do something for him/her, you repeat in your mind: "Thank you God, that you allow me to do this for him/her". You just serve the other, with humility and devotion. You don't have to be intrusive. You received the gift of that person, and you are always behind him/her... always there to encourage, support... You have to be a good listener. A trained listener.
The two need never forsake good communication, to perfect this training. And also some "inspiration", which is the holy part.
I think that persons with a hidden agenda, or who cannot exit their convictions (such as that all is a question of money), will find the truly devoted person very boring, because they are not prepared for true relinquishing to the other. They will need their space, become impatient, irritable. One has to be pure, clean inside, so that there is true relinquishing as a marriage should be. Light does not pass a crystal if it has spots. We must strive to make ourselves holy for the Lord and our mate, because our heart must be as that crystal. It will be our mate that will paint the sensations of light and warmth in it, as the light passing through the crystal. And then we will know what true love is.
Indeed, I find every talk about money very boring. It is just an instrument that has to be used for one's needs. But one should be free, not slave of it. The free time is better employed for other things that can enrich life spiritually and make it better. I think that both in the couple should share a similar view, or there might be tensions. Well, there are people after a career, but of course they should not put it in the face of the other all the time. Everything should have a purpose. If one follows his/her career just for the sake of their career, they are only taking care of their ego. They are not really prepared for a family. If it is for the family, to help the others, etc., then it makes sense. One should ask: where is the direction that this action goes?
"The real opposite of love is not hate, but indifference" (Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz)