by mystic » Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:13 pm
Just my 2 pennies thought. We usually see the women hit, mistreated, etc. I can say that it often happens to men too. They are just more unwilling to recognize it, fearing that the others will laugh at them.
I have no shame to say that I experienced anything possible, included being beaten by my mate and menaced with a knife. But I did not divorce from her for that. I divorced because after 7 years she changed her mind and didn't want children, and I could not see my duty toward God fulfilled without children. Well, I could not live with that thought.
After that experience, for a long time I didn't want to hear the word "marriage" again. Indeed, who assures us that it will be eternal? If the vow would ensure that it is really eternal, in the good and the bad, I would do it at once. The issue is not when you find yourself in the good or in the bad, because if the situation is external, it is normal, and you can work on it. But when the bad comes inside the family... that should not happen and it is not in our control, sometimes. When you take the vow, you are usually not imagining to find your loved one with a knife in her hand menacing you. You think of other external bad situations, thinking that the two of you will be united and strong in fighting to win every obstacle.
Well, one can accept even violence, like I did. But maybe there can be something that... makes all burst, like for me the children issue.
At the end, inside I miss the good marriage, but I would dare to do it again only with the really right one, with clear signs of God that she is my destined one. I am the old style kind of person, who learned that a woman should not be hit, not even with a flower. I never like to argue. I like to be caring, warm hearted ... But sometimes the opposites attract. So... with those values I am the one in the weak position, and I find my opposite, i.e. an abusive woman taking advantage of my lack of reaction back to her. I learned that instead the soulmate should be similar to me, like a sister.
Well, I am reducing the topic too much to stereotypes. It's much more complex. I cannot say that I chose a completely different girl, because if we had nothing in common, it would not have worked. But obviously there were also some incompatibilities. I think the most correct answer is if one person is ego-centric or listen to the others. If one day love is not so strong, it becomes like a game. And the couple should always be mature enough not to engage in that game. Respect should always be at the foundation.
Then, concerning the question, if love decreases... what will happen? I don't believe in a love only made by feelings or passion. It is something that builds everyday, knowing the other person each day more and appreciating him/her more. Every act together makes a remembrance. Done constantly over the years makes the other person your complete reference... the story of your entire life. Who is so crazy to renounce to his same self? I don't think that love fades away. The love that I am referring to, can only increase with time. Of course, early emotions and feelings change, but that has a physical reason. I see it only partly connected with the concept of love. If one has a strong connection with God and nurtures a true love, I think that his/her feelings are at his/her service. If they decrease, in a moment he/she can revive them.
"The real opposite of love is not hate, but indifference" (Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz)