Of Love and Marriage

We have been married for 55 years. Even so, we still have much to learn about life-giving partnerships. I can tell you, we had a rocky start but there was never a question of divorce or unfaithfulness. We married for better or for worse. The years have rolled by and our marriage, still not without its ups and downs, grows better and better. And we grow more and more in love.

I came across what amounts to an excellent dissertation on Love and Marriage in a most unlikely source:
http://phoolsparadise.blogspot.com
But there is nothing foolish about what is written in the article on love and marriage. I wish we had had it to read before we were married. Even so, it is still relevant and helpful to us today. There are so many nuggets of wisdom that concerns all of us, whether married or not. For this piece of prose is not written by a mere marriage guidance counsellor (he may indeed be that) but, judging by the quality and content of the essay, by a philosopher-psychologist and sincere human being who knows what he is talking about.

For instance, I have heard many people talk about humility: what it is and what it is not. Payton L Inkletter writes of it so beautifully that I quote a few of his words below. But do visit the website and read the rest of his wisdom. (The print is tiny but I copied and pasted them onto a document so I could read it without eye strain)

Humility
Humility’s only tool is validation. Humility starts with validation, proceeds with validation, and ends with validation. This explains the organic connection between humility and love.

The not so sharp have said that humility is being a doormat, the clever say that humility is considering others as more important than oneself, while the enlightened say that humility is considering others as important as oneself.