“Our susceptibility to the myth of ‘Mr. Right’ comes from our glorification of romantic love.
The ego uses romantic love for its ‘special purposes,’ causing us to jeopardize relationships by overvaluing their romantic content. The difference between friendship and infatuation can be illustrated with the image of a long-stemmed rose. The stem is the friendship, and the blossom is the infatuation. And because the ego is feeling-oriented, we automatically focus our attention on the blossom. But all the juices the blossom needs to survive reach it through the stem. The stem may look boring compared to the blossom, but if you cut the blossom off from the stem, it won’t last long… (also) during some seasons, the blossoms fall off. But if you take care of the plant, the right season will come again and the roses will bloom.
The fading of romantic thrill does not necessarily signal the end of a great relationship, except to the ego. The Spirit can see the seeds of a new birth in every decline.”
Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love
If this is today’s message from the “Lessons of Love,” check to what extent romantic notions of love are preventing you from meeting your life partner. Or, if you are already in a relationship, take care of the “stem” and look for love in the more prosaic but deeply intimate forms of friendship.
