Quotes about Relationships

An ingenious man can hardly stay with a people against their will; and a sincere man can more hardly, for any interest of his own, remain in a place where he is likely to be unprofitable, to hinder the good which they might receive from another man, who hath the advantage of a greater interest in their estimation and affection.

Direct. IV. Be a good husband to your wife, and a good father to your children, and a good master to your servants, and let love have dominion in all your government, that your inferiors may easily find, that it is their interest to obey you. For interest and self-love are the natural rulers of the world.

Even with all the best intentions in the world, given our different temperaments, backgrounds, and the way we process our data and information, we are going to step on one another's toes. Two people with absolutely good will can deeply hurt one another. Good people hurt one another because we all come at reality in different ways. That's why, for Jesus, the only way to achieve union is through forgiveness, not through making sin impossible.

What we all desire and need from one another, of course, is that life energy called eros! It always draws, creates, and connects things.

eventually goes where he or she wants to go. People who have never allowed themselves to fall are actually off balance, while not realizing it at all. That is why they are so hard to live with. Please think about that for a while.

is actually undoing the fourth commandment of Moses, which tells us to "honor your father and mother"? This commandment is necessary for the first half of life, and, one hopes, it can be possible forever. As we move into the second half of life, however, we are very often at odds with our natural family and the "dominant consciousness" of our cultures.

Fullness in a person cannot permit love because there are no openings, no handles, no give-and-take, and no deep hunger.

When we learn to love anyone or anything, It is because they have somehow, if just for a moment, Mirrored us truthfully yet compassionately to ourselves.

The great commandment is not thou shalt be right. The great commandment is to be in love.

By the feminine principle I mean everything vulnerable, interior, powerless, subtle, personal, intimate, and relational. By the masculine principle I mean everything clear, rational, linear, ordered, in control, bounded, provable, and hard. Both the feminine and masculine are good, but they must balance each other.

Fear breaks relationships (trust is the bridge that establishes relationships). You can have love and even genuine forgiveness, but if you do not have trust, a relationship is not possible. Fear and pride tear down the trust that makes a relationship possible, therefore creating division.

You also know you're surrendered when you don't react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don't edge others out, you don't demand your rights, and you aren't self-serving when you're surrendered.