Healthy Happy Intimate Adult Relationship

Healthy Happy Intimate HHIA Relationships 63

Maintaining the Vibe

Romancing

Romance:

1) to exaggerate or invent detail or incident

2) to entertain romantic thoughts or ideas

3) to try to influence or curry favor with someone through flattery, personal attention and/or gifts

4) to carry on a “love affair”

paraphrased from Merriam Webster

Sean, back again! We are expanding our investigation of our exchanges and quest for connection, affection, and passion in our HHIA relationships.    

In other words, we are considering who we are and who we want to be with each other on our journey towards love, lust and appreciation with one another.

Our relationships are more than just making date, hanging out, and fooling around. Actually, a big part of our time and effort in our relationships is, at least in the beginning, about creating a feeling, encouraging affection, comfort and attraction of/from our significant partners and love interests. ?

Photo by willow mcdonough on Scopio

A tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure.

Charlie Chaplin

Romance Recall

Most of us refer to or recall this as romance! On the one hand, the romantically challenged do their best not to miss romantic gestures completely or mistake them for humor, satire or sarcasm. On the other hand, the romantically gifted find flattery attention and gift giving to be an art and honor whether they are on the giving or receiving side of things at any given moment.  

However, most of us fall somewhere in between “challenged” and “gifted”. Put simply we find ourselves walking the fine line between fanaticism and fatigue where we find romance in all of its glory and gore! This puts us in the awkward and often unclear social, cultural and historical expectations which none of us can actually achieve and find ourselves falling short while at the same time our others find our efforts, errors and excitement quite endearing. These can include:

  • Lovenotes
  • Petnames
  • Flowers
  • First Date Recreations
  • Counting & Celebrating Days, Months & Years
  • Homemade Gifts
  • Chocolate
  • Selfie Shots
  • Ice Cream
  • Silly Kissy Faces
  • Birthday Surprises
  • Little Gifts
  • Grand Gestures
  • Emoji Love Spells
  • Intimate Texts
  • and so many other “love-bytes” we share

As our HHIA-Relationships devlop and transform from dating to living together, from living together to building a life together, and form building to sharing and maintaining a life together, things change. Some of the little things that brought us together can fall to the wayside as we saddle up and ride off into the sunset together.

Photo by Pablo Nidam on Scopio

Romantically Resistant

Kiss me and you will see how important I am.

Sylvia Plath

Ultimately, this process can leave us feeling more bound and tied to one another than feeling connected, joined, or coupled. In other words, our united fronts and fixed relationship roles can leave us feeling unseen and isolated in our relationships and time together which can begin to suffer from an absence of expressed appreciation and spoken approval or voiced affection. 

Romantic Revival

When this happens, we are being invited to inspire ROMANCE in ourselves and our significant others! We are invited to again:

  • invent incidents
  • exxagerate detail
  • entertain romantic thoughts & ideas
  • flatter
  • give personal attention
  • and “curry favor”

with & from both our partners and ourselves.

This is not an instantaneous event or automatic effect. But there is great potential for fun and creativity, when we choose to make the effort. We can remember and reignite our passion potential.

I’m very romantic, I’m extremely romantic. I date my wife.

Alice Cooper
Photo by ethereal lenswork on Scopio

That’s all for now!

This is Sean. Try to remember romance for yourself (and for those who are important to you) this week and see what happens.

(For more concrete suggestions, contact me at kontakt@praxis-wiebersch.de .)

Our earlier Blog-Lessons:

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German Blog-lessons:

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Healthy Happy Intimate Adult Relationship, Uncategorized

Healthy Happy Intimate HHIA Relationships 43

In Between

Ritual Romance

Sean here! And after our jaunt into relationship rituals last time, we are back. As I suggested, we are going to look at romance, romantic rituals and ritual romance in our HHIA Relationships and our lives in general.

To start, romance, love relationships and rituals are all separate and can be combined in a million different ways. Each of our HHIA relationships have a unique blend of these four elements. Every relationship is unique and our combination of relationship, romance, ritual and love are one of a kind.

Photo by Kemal Mehmet on Scopio

Definitions

For reference, let’s consider the definition of romance. According to Merriam-Webster romance is “a medieval tale based on legend, chivalric love and adventure, or the supernatural”. And just for the record, this is not a practical expectation in our relationships. A more realistic definition might be „a love affair“.

Romance

Each of us has a different and unique relationship to romance. And let’s be clear, romance, although often confused with love, is not love. In real life true romance is not an escape but rather supports our lives, our truths and our relationships.

Specifically, “Hollywood Romance”, “Romance Novels” and most of what our society sells as “ROMANCE” is at best a supernatural fantasy no one can live up to. At worst “ROMANCE” is a medieval legend that makes us feel less than; less than our peers, partners and friends.

Photo by Òscar Penelo on Scopio

Romantic Notions

Secondly, butterflies, rainbows, and seing stars are great when they are great and even more so when they are mutual. Otherwise, they can distract us from the truth that we are creating trust and intimacy with another adult human being.

In other words, the things that turn my head, put a smile on my lips and a skip in my step may not be the same as my partner or you. I would suggest that the most romantic thing we can do is to meet our partners where they are and engage them as they need and want to be engaged. Listening and responding to their needs and desires is the most considerate and threfore romantic gesture we can offer. Always try to keep your partners in mind.

“Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.”

Frida Kahlo
Photo by Javier Sanchez Mingorance on Scopio

Romance4Real

On the one hand, our intentions and expectations are built on our experiences, understanding and awareness. On the other, our partners intentions and expectations are built on their experiences, understanding and awareness. Finding the in between is where we can build intimacy and even promote our own unique romance when we desire it and recognize it for what it is.

Romantic Rituals

Romance in the day to day includes making coffee and/or drinking the coffee that is made. Any number of chores, tasks or jobs that support our partners as well as recognizing their efforts to do the same. These are the true romantic gestures in our daily lives.

Photo by Maritza Hernandez on Scopio

Daily romantic rituals can include:

  • Notes
  • Texts
  • Emojis
  • “I love you” s  
  • Making coffee
  • Quick calls
  • Snuggling on the sofa
  • Cooking
  • Kisses
  • Hand holding
  • Doing a little dance
  • Sitting together for a minute or two

All the many things that make you feel closer to each other.

Photo by Cristian Vera on Scopio

“We loved with a love that was more than love.”

Edgar Allen Poe

Real Life Romance

Ultimately, our individual HHIA Relationships can be infused with romantic rituals from anniversaries to date nights and coffee in bed to foot massage Friday. It is up to you to determine together which rituals are best for you and your partners.

The variety can include:

  • Going to dinner
  • Cooking dinner
  • Reading to one another
  • Reading in silence together
  • Brunching together
  • Time together
  • Time apart
  • Going for a drive together
  • Working out together
  • Shopping together
  • Buying flowers
  • Sitting together
  • Holding hands
  • Doing the laundry together     

An important aspect of romantic rituals is that all parties involved understand and acknowledge the intimacy & trust building happening. This, intention and awareness, helps us to avoid habits and patterns that reduce our feelings of togetherness and intimacy.

We all deserve to be met where we are by someone who recognizes and accepts us as we are. This is real romance.  

Photo by Olga Shpak on Scopio

This is Sean. Try being aware of your romantic intentions for yourself (and with those who are important to you) this week and see what happens

.(You can always contact me for more concrete suggestions.)

Our earlier Blog-Lessons:

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