Padriag -> RE: Wanting Too Much VS Not Enough (11/27/2008 7:32:24 AM)
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ORIGINAL: MadRabbit On one hand, there is the pursuit of a caricature. An ideological and nuanced vision in my mind of what the perfect partner is. The sum total of the knowledge provided by one's own desires, personality, and experiences as to what the Summum Bonum of an intimate relationship would be. In most cases, this is a bad idea. There is no perfect partner. I've met some awesome women in my time... "C" who was probably the best thing to ever happen to me... "K" who I still miss.... "S" who was a Playmate... and while I have fond memories of them all, none of them was perfect. That's the problem with building up a too detailed ideal image of the perfect partner... it tends to get unrealistic and progresses towards impossible. quote:
When considering this approach to searching for a partner, certain questions become raised. - Does this person even exist outside of one's own mind?
- Since people are rarely ever ideals, is this a self defeating philosophy of spending one's life trying to fit square pegs into round holes?
- Is it better to hold out for the ideal at the expense of denying one's self the experiences of being with people?
1) Probably not... depends on how realistic your ideal is. 2) It can be and from your own experience, that seems to have been the case. 3) Absolutely not... even if you are searching for that ideal... nothing saying you can't enjoy the rest of the garden along the way. Pluck them flowers man... pluck'em I say! [image]http://www.collarchat.com/image/s4.gif[/image] quote:
On the other hand, we have the pragmatic approach to relationships. Abandoning the ideology, the caricature, and the ideal and simply just accepting the person for the person. Just finding someone you connect with in some way and working out the rest. In comparison to the negatives of the other way, at first glance, this seems like the best approach. Has its merits, but if you go too far the other way with it... it still just doesn't work. I've watched guys do this... and then resign themselves to relationships they got themselves into, and were now trapped in because of children, but which they really didn't want to be in... and waited for the inevitable affairs, often on both sides. quote:
However, it also raises some questions. - At what point does "accepting a person as a person" become "settling for less"?
- When does "working out the rest" become just getting used to and dealing with the things we cannot have?
- Is this approach merely reducing the risk of being lonely the rest of one's life at the expense of what one wants?
1) When you decide having someone is more important than having what you need and really want. 2) See above 3) Yup quote:
So the questions I am posing are... - Which methodology do you take to finding a partner?
- How do you deal with the potential negatives of that ideology?
- Or is there a middle ground between the two that you have found?
- Or maybe there is a third separate methodology that I am completely missing?
1) I try to take the middle road between the two. I don't have an "ideal" image in my head of what I want... instead I have a list of qualities and traits that are very important to me and on which I will not compromise. I also have a list of things I won't tolerate or accept, and on which I also won't compromise. Outside of these two lists, everything else is open. In other words, I separated what was important to me from what wasn't, that was all the clarity I needed. 2) One negative I've noticed is that with submissives I apparently don't present a clear enough image of what I expect, I'm too laid back about it. Some seem to misunderstand that and are confused by it. Being demanding has its place. 3) See 1 above 4) Possibly... the world is full of possibilities.
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