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RE: How do you know when you found the one

in #love7 years ago

I read this post after I read your post on Tips to improve your learning skills and subsequently followed you. That post reminded me of some ideas that challenge me. I thought I would attempt to return the favor.

Let me start by saying that I agree with two great points you made.

...Also, you know you are with the right person when you bump into obstacles, but you overcome them. If you think that the relationship with your soulmate has to be perfect, you’re wrong...

...Another aspect of a perfect match is the way you two see the important things in life...

On the whole however, I think this is a dangerous critique of "love". Most of your thoughts about this topic are based on feelings. The problem with feelings is that they are based on circumstances and states of being...both of which change. In the case of circumstances, the love of your life may be paralyzed or otherwise injured. It is easy to say, "yes, but that will not effect the way I feel because I love her." Try caring for an invalid for a few years and see if you do not have some feelings you wish you were not having. As for states of being, consider changing bodies, adding children to the equation, changes in interests as you age, changes in personality brought on by illness or natural decline in hormone levels.

In general the idea that there is one person out there for you is tantamount to saying that 99% of human beings are not with that one person they should be with. What if you live in America, but "the one" lives in Russia, or dies before you have a chance to meet, or an infinite set of other problems, because 8 billion people! There are frankly a lot of reasons the idea of "one true love" is problematic.

Another issue with this view of love is that while not practiced in the west, and while I am not necessarily advocating for it, there have been countless arranged marriages that have been loving, fruitful, meaningful, and fulfilling. These individuals did not find "the one", and this leads to my primary assertion. Love is not a feeling, love is a choice...or rather a series of choices.

When I first started on Steemit I wrote a post entitled Thoughts On Marriage And Divorce. This is an old post and my aim is not to monetize, but rather to add an alternative perspective closely related, and mostly contradictory, to your thoughts. This is not because I am trying to be an asshole, but simply because having discussions about what we believe and why we believe it is important.

You certainly have the right to your view. I simply hope you can give it some deeper thought before you decide you have settled or that you have indeed found "the one". In the first case you will be doing your spouse a disservice, and in the second you will be doing yourself one. I appreciate your post and have given it an upvote.


As an footnote, let me add that while...

Some psychologists believe that, when you found your true soulmate...you simply feel that you can’t exist without him/her.

Some psychologists also know that when you have placed all your bets on that feeling and "the one" decides to become an alcoholic, or develops mental illness, this feeling can be a factor in leading to codependency.

In all fairness, I understand the point though. Obviously I feel this way about my wife, but that feeling is the result of a long series of choices to love and not the other way around. Not to mention it is false. I can indeed choose to live even if my wife dies.