Challenged by your relationships? Good!

Why are our relationships such a challenge?

By their very nature, relationships always push us toward duality, toward the opposites. They take us into both the light of our souls and the darkness of our subconscious. They force us to look at the light and experience the shadows.

If we deny the light of either ourselves or the other person, we relate to each other in conflict. If we deny the shadows of either ourselves or the other, we relate in illusion. Only by accepting both do we truly face reality and experience harmony.

Relationships also challenge us to accept the unknown of both ourselves and the other, and this is never easy. Meeting this challenge must be founded on trust. You need to trust that the other will get whatever they need from you. You also need to trust that you will get whatever you need from them.

The key word is NEED, not desire. We are not in relationships to have our desires fulfilled. It is up to us to fulfill our own desires and stop demanding that they be fulfilled by others. For example, if you have the desire to be loved, you must not demand it from someone else. You fulfill your need for love by expressing it, and no one can prevent you from doing that.

We usually create difficulties in our relationships when we let our desires get in the way of the needs. When we don