Marriage Partnership

Here is your Friday STORY on: HAPPINESS: Happiness is to know you are happy. Whilst most people will heartedly agree with that comment, it would follow that the complete opposite must also be true. 'Happiness is to know when you are sad!' Admission and acceptance are important factors. If you refuse to do either you'll be always wondering why life is against you. If you recognise you are sad you are halfway to removing the sadness. More often than not this recognition will only arise during a brief spell of trying to knock on the door of happiness. At the moment your emotional state has risen because you've almost created a smile, a sudden acknowledgement of wanting more happiness makes you remember vividly the moments earlier when you were sad; thus providing you with the necessary evidence of sadness. To move from sadness to happiness needs determination and action, both of which need strength of character. Sadness is a drain on your energy, so the first effort needed is to gather whatever energy you can. Sleep as you well know invigorates the soul, but as the remembrance of all that makes you sad floods into mind during the few moments of being awake, that energy is zapped. The key, although you maybe sad, is to introduce a little happiness. This maybe getting dressed in your best bib and tucker and visiting friends or going to a restaurant, your favourite restaurant. Whilst the sadness will still loom heavily, you're gaining strength and a new determination is born. Try and introduce 20 or 30 small events, such as a chocolate drink or a cocktail that reminds you of a holiday. All these will top of the strength of your new conviction. Today's story is an illustration of how we can gain strength from our family, our memories that many would consider inconvenient, but most would love the thought of. For example when your children visit your bed at 5am; which maybe tiresome at the time, but if you work away from home they'll be memories you wish you could share again. Too many of us put values onto the wrong aspects of our life. This, if we did but know, are contributory factors in being sad. If we have trouble at work we bring the sadness home. Why? Simply because we attach too much value! When our real values as such should be with the more important aspects of our life. NOTHING BEATS FAMILY I stepped into my hotel room to a pleasant surprise. Lots of room surrounded an inviting king-size bed, flanked by overstuffed armchairs that rested against sliding glass doors that opened onto a private patio. A small dining table sat next to a kitchenette with a separate sink, refrigerator and coffee machine. "Wow, " I thought to myself. "Nice place." I love hotels - from the Holiday Inn Express to the Ritz-Carlton and everything in between. I love to enter a clean room, hang my clothes and gaze out the window, walk out in the morning knowing that each afternoon when I return, someone else will have made the bed. I like in-room dining and the way they greet you so professionally. "Nice to have you with us again, Mr. Goldsborough." Very cool. The problem is that unless Alison travels with me, I never sleep well in hotels. I miss my family. Even though Linus and Camille, at ages 4 and almost 2, find a way to interrupt even the best night's sleep at home, still, I'd rather be with them. I'll take Linus clamouring over me at five AM or a kick in the chin from Camille over the finest linens and a chocolate on my pillow. When I'm on the road I yearn for my loved ones. I'm deeply troubled by the number of parents who wake up too late with the realization: "My children grew up too fast. In the hustle-bustle of career and corporate rat race, I missed their childhood." What they fail to say but too often inwardly think causes me even more pain: "...and I barely even know them." This applies to couples as well - so in a hurry to get who-knows-where - a destination seldom defined. Relationships turn into co-habitations, romance into convenience. Very disturbing. A hundred years from now, no one will remember the size of your bank account, the car you drove or the square footage of your house. The world might differ greatly however, based on your impact in the life of a small child. Your life will most certainly improve, if you pay attention to your significant other, make the choice to put her or him first. Your example will benefit the rest of us. Our world cries out for role models and heroes of every day living. What could you do today to let your loved ones know how much they mean to you? What will you do tomorrow? And the next day? Think of one specific action that you can take, and take it. Then think of another one and take that, too. Challenge yourself to find new ways to express your appreciation and love on a daily basis. It will pay off ten-fold at home. On those slightly stressful days when the grass looks a little greener and you feel like maybe you need a break, remember this. Room service will never kiss you goodnight! (Ridgely Goldsborough) QUOTE: 'I truly feel that there are as many ways of loving as there are people in the world and as there are days in the life of those people.' (Mary S. Calderone)

partnership in marriage 2

Marriage as a Spiritual Partnership

Partnership in marriage pt1

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