Before saying "I'm willing": The 100 questions you must ask: The 100 questions you must ask

Author: Pierre
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: For those of us facing marriage in the new millennium, we need to consciously form shared perspectives. Nothing is taken for granted. We lack cultural role models to follow. Traditional values often fail to sustain our emotional relationships. For many of us, parents who divorced are not role models to emulate. As for television, movies, and music, they all promote simplistic solutions, romantic transgressions, and the passions of the young. So, how can we maturely view emotional relationships—one that is both passionate and committed, allowing both partners to fully express themselves? Marriage is often seen as a relationship without passion, or one that requires constant effort to maintain it—such as scheduling sex, communicating with each other, and taking vacations at specific times. Is it possible to build a long-lasting, loyal, vibrant, and passionate marriage? I can hardly imagine entering marriage without believing such a thing is possible. I hope to be passionate in every aspect—emotionally, sexually, and spiritually—rather than suffering through arguments and suspicion. I want to be deeply connected with the one I love, trusting that between us, there will be moments of passion, moments of friendship, times when our thoughts align perfectly, and times when we seem worlds apart. But in the end, we will always return to each other, return to ourselves, and return to our commitment. In this regard, there are no tricks, no gimmicks, no hierarchies, and no simple answers. The solution, and the only solution, is to understand and express oneself while accepting one's partner, and to do so consistently, with good skills.