Why does romantic love often end, degenerating into a complex power struggle?
Usually, romance begins easily enough. We look around and wham! There before us is the person of our dreams. The first conversation confirms it. Unlike the one-sided attractions we’ve all experienced, this one seems to be real; the feeling is mutual. We find values and lifestyle preferences in common. And oh the emotion! Perhaps over time we marry or make plans far into the future. For perhaps the first time in years, we feel happy, and even comment that we have found the missing piece of ourselves.
And then something happens. One day we look over and notice something’s not quite right. Our partner has a behavior that we don’t align with, or they aren’t giving us the attention we felt when the relationship began. Amazingly, at the same time, we realize that our partner has their own set of complaints about us too, finding fault with who we are and how we act. We begin to defend ourselves, as does our partner, and the typical power struggle officially begins.
As the relationship progresses, that “in love” feeling begins to wane for both partners as each falls short of the magical image the other has projected on them. Sometimes, the disappointment is so great, we immediately make plans to leave the relationship, to find another dream lover who won’t let us down.
Yet now, because of our expanding awareness, we have other options. We can instead choose to act based on the energy dynamics that underlie the difficulty. From the perspective of the new spiritual awareness, we now know what happens. Love ends and evolves into a power struggle because we begin to depend on energy from each other, rather than from our own inner connection with the divine. 🙏💖✨
