The Easy Recipe for Addressing Relationship Challenges

Spiritual teachings suggest that we are all beautiful, unique expressions of one source of life force. Each of us is an emanation of that divine light. That essence cannot be understood but is felt and recognized by qualities such as love, joy, peace, and well-being. This essence is not unique to us, but we all have a unique experience of that essence.

We each live in our separate reality. Each of us living in unique experiences can be challenging for intimate relationships, but recognizing that we are expressions of the same being makes compassion easier to find.

Botanist and citizen of the Potawatomi Nation Robin Wall-Kimmerer wrote in Braiding Sweetgrass, “What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual.”

Relationships benefit from remembering that all flourishing is mutual. It is easy to focus on the challenges we experience and approach them from an adversarial standpoint forgetting that we are on the same team. The tendency is to start by trying to solve the problems without addressing the polarization. For example, we approach the logistical difficulties of making life work without considering our state of mind, our experience of compassion, and remembering we are on the same side.