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Marriage is…”flawed people coming together to create a space of stability, love and consolation”.
Our culture has created very unrealistic values and expectations on marriage and partners
marriage
#MarriageStrong: Blaming
From the Boone Center for the Family
I’ve NEVER done this!
Blame is one of four coping reactions to pain. It’s common for “blamers” to react in an aggressive fashion that accuses another. In reaction to feeling unloved or unsafe, a blamer tends to make demands or demean others. It’s ironic that a person reacts with blame because she feels unloved or unsafe, yet in her reactivity makes others feel the very same, unloved and/or unsafe.
The 5-7 minute rule of talking about work with your spouse
The 5-7 minute rule of talking about work with your spouse:
In countless counseling sessions, I’ve heard partners share their struggles with the “work conversations” when getting home after a long day. In the workplace setting, there are conflicts, crises, and criticism which takes an emotional toll.
Naturally, a spouse might want to share their work struggles with the partner because they have a safe marriage. But the problem is that the spouse hearing the lament is powerless to do anything about it. He or she can’t help with the issues and there can only be so much “listening” and “empathy” one can give. And usually, the listener doesn’t have an outlet to share the burden or pain.
All marriage partners need allies–friends, peers, support groups–to confide in so that the marriage doesn’t become the only place to share work struggles.
We’ve tried to have a 5-7 minute “talk about work” rule in our home in order to keep it minimal. Typically, the conversation might happen while we’re making dinner together and then there’s a transition of “Enough about my work…how was your day?”
We want to be a safe space for each other and not burden the other with work issues. Instead, focus on decompressing, having some confidants (preferably a therapist, coach, pastor, or trusted friend) to talk with, and using the evening to fill each other’s love tank.
The Complementarity of Man and Woman: An International Colloquium
Videos and talks about the crisis of family and marriage from the wide landscape of Christian faith as hosted by Pope Francis.
The Complementarity of Man and Woman: An International Colloquium is a gathering of leaders and scholars from many religions across the globe, to examine and propose anew the beauty of the relationship between the man and the woman, in order to support and reinvigorate marriage and family life for the flourishing of human society.
Witnesses will draw from the wisdom of their religious tradition and cultural experience as they attest to the power and vitality of the complementary union of man and woman. It is hoped that the colloquium be a catalyst for creative language and projects, as well as for global solidarity, in the work of strengthening the nuptial relationship, both for the good of the spouses themselves and for the good of all who depend upon them.
The Colloquium is sponsored by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and co-sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
Husband or Wife? The Partner Whose Happiness Matters More For The Marriage
Okay…I agree with this article IF it means that a happy wife is responsible for her own happiness AND that the husband can ADD to this mutually satisfying enterprise. In other words, I don’t believe that a husband is SOLELY responsible for the happiness of his wife. That is her inner work to do, with her husband as a partner in the journey.
I have personally noticed that I am happier when my wife is indulging herself in “personal happiness responsibility”. It spills over into our marriage and my own life. If she’s happy and I’m not happy, life is still okay. I can work through with some support. I would rather see her happy and fulfilled. It’s easier for me to cope with life when she is in this state. I’m sure my happiness might affect/impact her as well….That’s been my personal experience and observation.
When the wife is happy with a long-term partnership, the husband is happier, no matter how he feels about the marriage.
For marital quality, it seems the wife’s happiness matters more than the husband’s.
Relationships as Sandboxes for Growth
“As a relationship becomes more constructive, the individuals who compose it become freer to change.”
– Howard Clinebell
Focus on the enrichment of your marriage (relationship), meeting each other’s mutual needs, as a means to become a whole person.
Marriage Enrichment
“A happy marriage is one where there is a relatively high degree of mutual need satisfaction. Conversely, an unhappy marriage has a high degree of mutual need deprivation. If a relationship produces chronic, unmet emotional hungers, it will diminish the self-esteem of those involved, resulting in rejection, anger, and aggression.”
– Howard Clinebell
