We imagine happily ever after. We imagine growing old together. We can't imagine burying our soul-mate but know that one of us will have to deal with the death of the other.
We watch friends leave husbands for their soul-mate. We watch husbands leave wives for their soul-mate.
And then comes the day when our soul-mate betrays us. When, it turns out, he wasn't our soul-mate after all but a total scumbag with the scruples of a tomcat.
And what compounds the pain is that we never saw this coming. Nowhere in the fairy tale we were sold did the princess get betrayed by the prince who was two-timing with a step-sister.
The idea of a soul-mate has done more to distort adult relationships than just about anything apart from the g-spot.
And yet it's a fantasy that won't die.
Why? Phyllis Theroux, author of The Journal Keeper, offers us a clue:
One of the strongest illusions in life is that another person's love will liberate us. The illusion is hard to let go of, even when one Lover after another has disappeared, because while they are present they do set us temporarily "free." We feel a if we are more talented and lovable, and then they turn away and stop loving us, and we realize how much our balloon depends upon their hot air.Belief in our soul-mate is, essentially, a desire to feel whole. To see a reflection of ourselves – a flattering one – in another's eyes. And when we lose that, it's easy to lose ourselves. Suddenly we can't see ourselves at all. My sense of self was rocked to the core. If I wasn't this adored wife, then who, exactly, was I? And if I couldn't trust this soul-mate...this extension of myself, I thought, then who could I trust?
The process of rebuilding my marriage began with an acceptance that he wasn't my soul-mate. That such a thing likely didn't exist except in the imaginations of song-writers and Nicholas Sparks.
My husband didn't share a perfectly compatible value system. He didn't want exactly what I wanted in life. He didn't feel exactly as I felt – or as I assumed he should feel – about lots of things. And in order for us to piece together our shattered life, I needed to get that through my thick head.
No easy task.
I clung tight to that fantasy. But slowly, I loosened my grip. Slowly, I started giving myself what I always wanted from him. Unconditional acceptance. Non-judgement. A sense of appreciation for who I am and what I stand for. Love. And the more I gave myself those things, the less I needed them from him. The more I was able to accept him as apart from me but a part of my life out of choice.
It's less romantic, in some ways. Gone is the childhood fantasy of someone who will love me without fail. Someone who completes me.
But in its place is the recognition that I can be that person for myself. That I am complete, with or without a partner. Which is as it always should have been.
Your posts speak to me. Thank you so much for this.
ReplyDeleteGood luck finding a way to love for love itself and without limitation because of your past.
ReplyDeleteYou loved blind, you were hurt, and your love is now guarded. Removing that guard might never happen, but at least you'll know why its not as satisfying as it used to be.
I think that's true, certainly in the short term. But what I've learned is that blind love isn't based in reality. It's refusing to see shortcomings, rather than loving in spite of them.
ReplyDeleteI've also learned that loving with the expectation of seeing that reflected back is also unrealistic. Though our culture sells us that fantasy, it's unattainable. What is attainable is learning to love ourselves in a way that, in a sense, immunizes us from another's betrayal. Of course, any betrayal will hurt...but when we feel solidly rooted in ourselves, it's easier to see it as the other person's problem, not a wholesale rejection of who WE are. We're able to see that it really has nothing to do with us.
Of course, this all takes a TON of work and healing. And, depending on the levels of betrayal and trauma in our past, it can be a lifetime's work. Betrayal that leads to trauma (which much does), some studies reveal, literally rewires the brain, leaving us vulnerable. But it is possible to learn new behaviours, even if they feel foreign at first.
I hope you'll at least consider the possibility of loving again for its own sake. A life hardened against any love isn't much of a life...it's purely survival. Which is all many of us are capable at first...but can make changes long-term.
I so relate to this. I also used to believe that love conquered all. That it didn't matter what obstacle stood in a couple's path (different life goals, different value systems, etc), love was enough. Now I see that it isn't. Love is important, but it can't overcome big basic things that will undermine a marriage in the long run. It won't heal addictions, past traumas, or insecurities. All that takes work, individually, and together. Without the work, love isn't enough.
ReplyDelete~Gee
This is profound! I think I will dry my tears, put my head up, go shower/dress, and start the 'rest of my life', today. Eyes open to the truth, about me, not just about h. I'm not a very glamorous picture today, but I'm liking me more all the time. The first day I found this blog I read something instructing us to 'go to the mirror, look deep into the eyes of that person and say 'you are beautiful'. I remember it clearly! First I saw that haggard face, dark eye sockets, matted hair; a pale image. But I continued to look, not allowing myself to glance away. I said 'you are beautiful' over and over to that woman. She cried, and sobbed, but she heard, I know she did! It didn't move her despair that day but she didn't forget it. It has lingered in her mind for months. That someone, meeting her gaze and giving her worth. Time has passed, and now the image says back 'yes I am'.
ReplyDeleteNot the magical prince/princess fairytale but Elle reminds us that was just illusion anyway.
So thankful for all of you bwc! Truth
Wow! A huge wow. I'm so glad you took those words to heart. I'm so glad you were able to see the inherent value in that battered soul. I'm so so glad you didn't look away but saw the pain and the sadness but also the strength and the integrity.
DeleteYes I am, indeed. Yes we all are. Every single one of us.
Something in this post resonates deeply within me and gives me hope. I have no idea how many times I've read it and I keep analyzing just what it is that makes so much sense to me. Today, I think of two things.
Delete1. I always feel as if I'm able to release fantasy a little bit more and inch forward in giving myself recognition.
2. I realize that I am mourning the loss of the dreams I've carried in regards to spending life with a soulmate.
It makes me feel a little sad but mostly motivated forward. Great post!
Elle,
ReplyDelete"The more I was able to accept him as apart from me but a part of my life out of choice.It's less romantic, in some ways. Gone is the childhood fantasy of someone who will love me without fail. Someone who completes me.But in its place is the recognition that I can be that person for myself. That I am complete, with or without a partner. Which is as it always should have been."
So glad I came back to read this post. I realized reading this that I still harbor that "he completes me" fantasy so without a complete "me" I am less than. Wrong, Beach Girl. So wrong. A warm feeling is flooding through me right now. Awesome Elle, just awesome.