DUBAI: In what has been another episode of vowing to live happily ever after, a group wedding was held last Thursday at the Philippine Consulate, this time with 26 OFW couples in attendance and Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes himself officiating.
The ceremony was punctuated by lighthearted moments of laughter as the excited couples embark on their journey in life with their better half.
Relationships are easy to maintain said experts at psychalive.org, a portal on the psychology of everyday life, stressing three main components:
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- Participating in the act of love.
The act of loving involves behaviors that keep a close relationship alive and vital. These include offering emotional and physical affection; expressing tenderness, compassion, and sensitivity to your partner’s needs; sharing activities and interests; and maintaining honest exchanges of personal thoughts and feelings. “When we participate in the give-and-take of love, we find ourselves actively involved in loving rather than falling into a passive state of fantasizing about being in love,” said the portal.
- Maintaining individuality
It may seem like a romantic notion to regard your loved one as your soulmate, your missing piece, your better half. However, this kind of imagined fusion destroys romance. It is impossible to feel romantic without the awareness that you and your partner are each a distinct and unique individual. That is why you need to regard yourself as a whole person and be sure you’re not looking for someone to complete your incompleteness or to define or affirm you.
- Ignoring your critical inner voice
To varying degrees, we all have an enemy within, according to Psychalive. “A part of ourselves that operates inside our heads much like a malicious coach, criticizing us and offering up bad advice. This enemy, with its destructive point of view, is your critical inner voice” and you’d be better off throwing it in the trash bin.
There you go – the ways to nurture a relationship.
