"Romantic Love" is only the kindergarten of our learning journey. At first we see it as the be all and end all, but of course, when put to the test of marriage or even cohabitation, it just doesn't survive.

So why do we do it? Why do we 'fall in love?' Why does it feel so good at the start and why do we feel so disappointed when it doesn't last?

The reason for romantic love is that it provides us with a sample of how productive our lives can be; IF we do the necessary work.

3. The Deficiency.

AS a species, mankind is a social animal with a strong need to belong. In his well-accepted Table of Needs, Abraham Maslow rates the feeling of belonging very highly, suggesting

If I only had a dollar for every time I've wanted to walk away from my marriage, I'd probably be sunning myself on the beach in Rio de Janeiro by now. But after 31 years with the same woman, I know that even with my megabucks and all the trimmings that wealth can bring, deep down I'd be feeling that something was missing somehow.

Someone once said that the only thing worse than wanting something was getting it. When I heard that first, in the folly of my youth, it didn't make much sense to me. Nowadays, being in the situation of knowing how little I know, it seems quite profound.

Have you ever noticed how the warm fuzzy feelings of getting what you want fade pretty soon afterwards?

How long does the euphoria really last?

How long does the acquisition stay NEW?

If it is a new car, perhaps only as long as that unique smell that comes with it. So what comes next? Do you start longing for something else? What's to be the next acquisition?

Or have you ever heard yourself saying:-

"Things will be great when I get my new house."

"Just wait until the new car arrives."

"Once I get the boss's job, then things will be great."

And sure, after you've got it, for a while anyway, things may indeed be great. But how do you feel after a week, or a month? Does the hunger set in again? Do you start looking for the next "When I get…"

How does this play out in our careers? Personally, I was able to spin out the self-delusion for quite some time. I'd joined the Army at 20, mainly because I "didn't know what I wanted to do". And when the little inside voice asked what was going on I was able to put it off until 'later'. John Lennon is attributed to having said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." My ‘later’ lasted for 22 years.

2. The Illusion.

"WHAT does this have to do with relationships?" I hear you ask. Well, the same rationale that we use to tell ourselves that "..It will be OK when…" is the same mechanism that we apply to our relationships. "When she starts to….", or "When he learns to…"; then I will be happy. Always looking for something or someone out there to make us happy.

We start off by "Falling in Love" with someone who is everything we ever dreamed of. Apart from being the most beautiful / handsome person we have ever met, they also have the cutest habits. They are warm, caring, gentle, kind, sensitive etc., etc…. What is even more wonderful, they seem to return the affection. Along with this nonsense comes the totally fatuous notion that he / she "makes me so happy." And how the musicians and poets milk this to death. One song line actually goes "You know you make me feel like you know I ought to."

The tragedy about this situation is that it is a complete ILLUSION, a total MYTH.

"Romantic Love" is only the kindergarten of our learning journey. At first we see it as the be all and end all, but of course, when put to the test of marriage or even cohabitation, it just doesn't survive.

So why do we do it? Why do we 'fall in love?' Why does it feel so good at the start and why do we feel so disappointed when it doesn't last?

The reason for romantic love is that it provides us with a sample of how productive our lives can be; IF we do the necessary work.

3. The Deficiency.

AS a species, mankind is a social animal with a strong need to belong. In his well-accepted Table of Needs, Abraham Maslow rates the feeling of belonging very highly, suggesting i

How long does the acquisition stay NEW?

If it is a new car, perhaps only as long as that unique smell that comes with it. So what comes next? Do you start longing for something else? What's to be the next acquisition?

Or have you ever heard yourself saying:-

"Things will be great when I get my new house."

"Just wait until the new car arrives."

"Once I get the boss's job, then things will be great."

And sure, after you've got it, for a while anyway, things may indeed be great. But how do you feel after a week, or a month? Does the hunger set in again? Do you start looking for the next "When I get…"

How does this play out in our careers? Personally, I was able to spin out the self-delusion for quite some time. I'd joined the Army at 20, mainly because I "didn't know what I wanted to do". And when the little inside voice asked what was going on I was able to put it off until 'later'. John Lennon is attributed to having said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." My ‘later’ lasted for 22 years.

2. The Illusion.

"WHAT does this have to do with relationships?" I hear you ask. Well, the same rationale that we use to tell ourselves that "..It will be OK when…" is the same mechanism that we apply to our relationships. "When she starts to….", or "When he learns to…"; then I will be happy. Always looking for something or someone out there to make us happy.

We start off by "Falling in Love" with someone who is everything we ever dreamed of. Apart from being the most beautiful / handsome person we have ever met, they also have the cutest habits. They are warm, caring, gentle, kind, sensitive etc., etc…. What is even more wonderful, they seem to return the affection. Along with this nonsense comes the totally fatuous notion that he / she "makes me so happy." And how the musicians and poets milk this to death. One song line actually goes "You know you make me feel like you know I ought to."

The tragedy about this situation is that it is a complete ILLUSION, a total MYTH.

"Romantic Love" is only the kindergarten of our learning journey. At first we see it as the be all and end all, but of course, when put to the test of marriage or even cohabitation, it just doesn't survive.

So why do we do it? Why do we 'fall in love?' Why does it feel so good at the start and why do we feel so disappointed when it doesn't last?

The reason for romantic love is that it provides us with a sample of how productive our lives can be; IF we do the necessary work.

3. The Deficiency.

AS a species, mankind is a social animal with a strong need to belong. In his well-accepted Table of Needs, Abraham Maslow rates the feeling of belonging very highly, suggesting

2. The Illusion.

"WHAT does this have to do with relationships?" I hear you ask. Well, the same rationale that we use to tell ourselves that "..It will be OK when…" is the same mechanism that we apply to our relationships. "When she starts to….", or "When he learns to…"; then I will be happy. Always looking for something or someone out there to make us happy.

We start off by "Falling in Love" with someone who is everything we ever dreamed of. Apart from being the most beautiful / handsome person we have ever met, they also have the cutest habits. They are warm, caring, gentle, kind, sensitive etc., etc…. What is even more wonderful, they seem to return the affection. Along with this nonsense comes the totally fatuous notion that he / she "makes me so happy." And how the musicians and poets milk this to death. One song line actually goes "You know you make me feel like you know I ought to."

The tragedy about this situation is that it is a complete ILLUSION, a total MYTH.

"Romantic Love" is only the kindergarten of our learning journey. At first we see it as the be all and end all, but of course, when put to the test of marriage or even cohabitation, it just doesn't survive.

So why do we do it? Why do we 'fall in love?' Why does it feel so good at the start and why do we feel so disappointed when it doesn't last?

The reason for romantic love is that it provides us with a sample of how productive our lives can be; IF we do the necessary work.

3. The Deficiency.

AS a species, mankind is a social animal with a strong need to belong. In his well-accepted Table of Needs, Abraham Maslow rates the feeling of belonging very highly, suggesting

We start off by "Falling in Love" with someone who is everything we ever dreamed of. Apart from being the most beautiful / handsome person we have ever met, they also have the cutest habits. They are warm, caring, gentle, kind, sensitive etc., etc…. What is even more wonderful, they seem to return the affection. Along with this nonsense comes the totally fatuous notion that he / she "makes me so happy." And how the musicians and poets milk this to death. One song line actually goes "You know you make me feel like you know I ought to."

The tragedy about this situation is that it is a complete ILLUSION, a total MYTH.

"Romantic Love" is only the kindergarten of our learning journey. At first we see it as the be all and end all, but of course, when put to the test of marriage or even cohabitation, it just doesn't survive.

So why do we do it? Why do we 'fall in love?' Why does it feel so good at the start and why do we feel so disappointed when it doesn't last?

The reason for romantic love is that it provides us with a sample of how productive our lives can be; IF we do the necessary work.

3. The Deficiency.

AS a species, mankind is a social animal with a strong need to belong. In his well-accepted Table of Needs, Abraham Maslow rates the feeling of belonging very highly, suggesting

"Romantic Love" is only the kindergarten of our learning journey. At first we see it as the be all and end all, but of course, when put to the test of marriage or even cohabitation, it just doesn't survive.

So why do we do it? Why do we 'fall in love?' Why does it feel so good at the start and why do we feel so disappointed when it doesn't last?

The reason for romantic love is that it provides us with a sample of how productive our lives can be; IF we do the necessary work.

3. The Deficiency.

AS a species, mankind is a social animal with a strong need to belong. In his well-accepted Table of Needs, Abraham Maslow rates the feeling of belonging very highly, suggesting it is secondary only to our need for food, drink, rest etc. Related to that need however, and possibly much, much stronger, is a need for intimacy, closeness and acceptance. In other words, we need love.

And here is where the conundrum starts: - we make a decision as to how we feel about love very early in life. The continuum of our amenability to love varies from people who are totally switched off to the possibility of love, (our prisons are full of them) at one end, to those really gregarious individuals who work themselves into a frenzy trying to gain approval.

We can gain great mileage, and absolve ourselves from responsibility for our attitude, by blaming our parents. Depending on the dynamics of our early relationships, we grow up with either the sense of having been abandoned or having been smothered. Either way we are left with the sensation of being flawed somehow, or having something missing.

4. The Expectation.

THE illusion referred to earlier is the seeming fulfillment of our deficiency. This person with whom we have "fallen in love" can magically provide all the missing elements that are needed to make us happy. Amazing. Mr. or Ms. Right has arrived. Not only does this "RIGHT" person have all the answers to my problems, but he / she will instinctively know how to behave to continue to make me happy. I do not even have to ask; she will somehow read my mind and understand what I need. While this attitude may seem ridiculous from an outside perspective, it may be a good thing to ask yourself this question.

How often have you felt disappointed that your partner has failed to carry out your wishes, to discover afterwards that he / she did not really know what you wanted in the first place? In other words, you ASSUMED or EXPECTED that she / he would fulfil the requirement.

We know enough nowadays to blame most difficult situations on poor communication. Unfortunately, there is an implication that if we just used terms and words that the other party understands, then problems would disappear. It is my contention that our problems stem not just from accidental or inadvertent mis-communications, but from our underlying arrogance in having expectations in the first place. And on a distinct unwillingness to take responsibility for our own actions and situation. How often have you heard about people whose marriage broke down. There it was, one minute it was OK, the next it was broken. ("I had nothing to do with this, it was the marriage that failed.")

5. The Games.

BACK in 1966 Eric Berne, M.D., in his book "Games People Play" introduced us to the idea of habitual behaviours that we employ in order to achieve our ends. He calls these habits "Games" because they do not represent honest and authentic behaviour. They are more like automatic, knee-jerk responses which are so well ingrained that we have convinced ourselves to be true.

My favourite is the one he cal