
There are many factors that go into creating a loving relationship.
Certainly it helps if two people have some things in common regarding
how they like to spend their time. It also helps if they have common
values around religion or spirituality, around politics, the
environment, abortion, and personal growth. It helps if they both eat
junk food or both eat organic food. It makes things easier if both are
neat or both are messy, if both are on time people or both are late
people. Physical attraction is also quite important. It’s great if they
have common values around money and spending.
Yet a couple can have all of these and still not have a loving
relationship if one element is missing. Without this essential
ingredient, all the other wonderful attributes will not be enough to
make the relationship work.
This essential ingredient is about intention.
At any given moment, each of us is devoted to only one of two different
intentions: to control or to learn. When our intention is to control,
our deepest motivation is to have control over getting love, avoiding
pain, and feeling safe. When our intention is to learn, our deepest
motivation is to learn about being loving to ourselves and others.
The motivation to get love rather than be loving can create havoc within a relationship.
Let’s look at a typical relationship issue and see what happens
regarding the two different intentions. Jason and Samantha are feeling
emotionally distant from each other, and they haven’t made love in a
month. The problem started when Samantha stated that she wanted to take
an expensive vacation and Jason objected. Samantha got angry, Jason gave
in, and they have been distant ever since.
Samantha’s intention was to have control over getting what she wanted.
She equates an expensive vacation with love – if Jason does this for
her, then he proves his love for her. She used her anger as a way to
have control over getting what she wants. She wants control over feeling
special to Jason.
Jason’s intention is to avoid pain. He gave himself up to have control
over Samantha not being angry with him. He hopes that by giving Samantha
what she wants, she will see him as a good and loving husband.
However, because both Jason and Samantha were trying to control each
other rather than be loving to themselves and each other, their
interaction created emotional distance.
What would this have looked like if their intention had been to learn?
If Samantha’s intent had been to learn, she would not have become angry.
Instead, she would have wanted to understand Jason’s objections. If
Jason’s intention had been to learn, he would not have given himself up.
Instead he would have wanted to understand why this particular vacation
was so important to Samantha. Both Samantha and Jason would have been
caring about themselves and each other, rather than wanting to get love
or avoid pain. In their mutual exploration about why they each felt the
way they did, they would have learned what they needed to learn – about
themselves and each other – to reach a win-win resolution. Instead of
Samantha ostensibly winning and Jason losing, they would have come up
with something both of them could live with. With some exploration of
his financial fears, Jason might have decided that the vacation Samantha
wanted would be fine. With understand of Jason’s financial concerns,
Samantha might have decided on a less expensive vacation. In either
case, both of them would have felt fine about the outcome.
No matter how much Jason and Samantha have in common or are attracted to
each other, their love will diminish when their intent is to control
rather than learn. It’s amazing how quickly love vanishes when one or
both partners have the intent to control. It’s equally amazing how fast
it comes back when both partners have the intent to learn.