Suleiman
Posts: 1127
Joined: 9/9/2004 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: amiciaN In the past few days, I have seen several posters, including myself, give the advice not to settle when searching for a partner. I firmly believe in this, not only for relationships that include wiitwd, but for any relationship. However, it is also true that many people have an 'ideal mate' in mind that is not always realistic. So my question is twofold: Where does one draw the line between compromising on a set of standards that might not ever be met and settling? And how does one tell the difference? The answer to both questions are the same: Self-awareness. Decide on your priorities. Constantly focus on what it is that you are looking for, and be ever-vigilant against the inevitability that you ma simply be lying to yourself. Very often, people decide that they want something not because they require it, but because it is something they feel is required of them. Monogamy, for example - or polygamy, for that matter. Some people are sincerely convinced that they can not have a D/s relationship within the confines of a monogamous relationship, while others will accept nothing less. In point of fact, more often than not, this assumption has not been closely examined. They have a preconcieved notion of what a relationship is, without really considering what sort of relationship they want, or what is important to them. I am incredibly picky about whom I share my bed with. Hell, I'm picky about who my friends are. I'm arrogant, opinionated, and anti-social. I can also say that the people I call friend are people I can and do trust with my life. The woman I married is EXACTLY the person I wanted and had been looking for since I was a teenager. It took me about ten years, give or take, to find her after I began to seriously think about what i wanted. I have found, much to my chagrine, that there were a few things that were not on my list because i took for granted that m partner would enjo all the same things I did. I remembered sci-fi and comic books, but completely overlooked S&M. Should I have been a little choosier? No. Why? I focused on a committed relationship, without insisting on a monogamous one. I dig commitment. Monogamy is a fine ideal, but ultimately unenforceable. These days, I'm glad that I never insisted on monogamy as one of the traits I was searching for. It leaves me free to find someone else, without disrupting what I've got. It may take me years, but that;s okay. I know exactly what i want, and I know I'll find them eventually.
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Think of my verbosity as a sort of litmus test for our relationship. I write in a manner identical to how I speak and how I think. If you can not cope with what I have written here, it is probably for the best if we go our separate ways.
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