How do you Pathwalk with a Partner?
How do you and a partner walk your paths together?
This question came to mind as I considered that my wife and I have different goals and aspirations for our professional lives. I want to share why for us this is not problematic, and how I think we strengthen and reinforce one another in walking our separate paths together.
There are some important points to keep in mind here. No matter who you are, you cannot walk anyone’s path but your own. Only you can think, feel and act for you, and you cannot do so for anyone else.
People often think that one person holds sway over another. This is only going to be true if someone allows their own thoughts, feelings and action to line up with those of someone else. I believe that because many people prefer to not make choices and to just go with what comes their way, they give the appearance of being under another’s dominion. But in truth, they just put no energy into choosing what they might truly want.
When you have a business partner, a romantic partner, a spouse or any other dependent or co-dependent, I think it’s of vital importance to recognize that even as a singular entity, like a couple or partnership, you are still both individuals.
I am no expert, but what I have come to believe is this: Any good, solid relationship is not two people coming together and becoming of one mind, but rather two people whose combined individuality makes each other stronger. When both of you are looking to choose your own paths to walk in life, you improve each other by working together.
Partners on separate paths can share their lives.
One of the key elements of this is that every single one of us has our own path in life. People will come in and out of our lives, and our relationships over time will change. Some will grow, some will fade. Some people will be in your life forever, while some will be there for a limited time.
When we choose along our path to take on a partnership, romantic or platonic, we choose to share some aspect of our path. One of the keys to recognizing this as a good thing is feeling that this is not some diversion from your path, but rather a part of it.
We are social creatures. Even the most introverted among us need other people, albeit sometimes in very small and intimate doses. Humans energetically feed off one another, sharing our experiences to provide us with connection.
Even when we partner with someone, we are still on our own path. The strongest partnerships, whether we are discussing lovers or business partners, are the ones where each individual works with the strengths of their partners. They help one another through difficulties and their real and perceived weaknesses.
Partners break us out of our limitations
My wife knows what I want from my life, what my goals are, what the path is I am walking. One of the best things she will do for me is act as a sounding board, point out when I am having limiting beliefs, and remind me when my thoughts are getting in the way of my feelings. I am not always as good about heeding her suggestions as I should be, but she supports me, which I appreciate thoroughly.
I support and encourage my wife in doing what she needs to for her path. I will suggest things and offer to be a sounding board for her, and do whatever I can to help her along her way.
We do not have the same professional goals. Yet we are still able to appreciate what we each do and want, and how that will effect our life together. We are a couple, yes, but we are also two individual people, on our own unique paths, striving to create amazing, consciously created realities.
Partners support and encourage.
I think one of the reasons for the failure certain partnerships is a lack of working as individuals on them. When you force a convergence of your lives, but there is resentment due to sacrifice real or perceived, the partnership can’t hold.
One of the things that used to scare me about relationships was giving up pieces of myself. I am all for compromise, but not in the name of sacrificing hopes and aspirations. If consciousness creates reality, and we live in an abundant universe, then even having a partner should be a source of joy and accomplishment along our paths in life.
Our culture tends to romanticize partnerships, even platonic ones. There is a big “ah-ha!” moment that brings them together, and they sync up perfectly, and often become a single entity. But in reality, the best partnerships are in sync, but they are still individuals, moving along their own unique paths.
How do you and a partner walk your paths together? By recognizing, sharing, encouraging, and helping each other travel your chosen paths. By accepting that while you will have things that will be totally and completely shared, you remain individuals with your own dreams and desires. You have a cheerleader, a confidant, and at least one person who understands you in nearly the same way you understand yourself.
Can you see how everyone walking our own paths makes us all stronger, together or separately?
This is the two-hundred eighty-sixth entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for and my personal experiences with walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.
If you enjoy Pathwalking, you may also want to read my Five Easy Steps to Change the World for the Better.
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