![]() With divorce rates in some social strata continuing to rise and many of us bemoaning the loss of true intimacy in an age of Snapchat and Facebook, Bruce Feiler has found an unlikely source of inspiration to help us navigate the modern waters of love-- the bible. Yes, folks, that ancient text with all of the "begat"s and such. Feiler writes quite convincingly that Adam and Eve may have had it right from the very beginning. Stay together, even when the proverbial applesauce hits the fan. Even when it might look like one of you has made an uber-big mistake and put both of you in jeopardy. Even when one of you outpaces the other in knowledge, life experience or situation. Even when you get evicted from the only home you have ever known. Even when one of your offspring kills the other. Stay together. Learn, grow and circle your wagons when necessary. Don't give up on each other. Don't turn on one another in times of strife. Forgive each other. Feiler makes some startling points. He says that the message of the story is not "disobeying God", it's "about obeying the larger message [of God], which is making the relationship work". God made these two to be companions for life. God calls upon them to "succeed...Go forth and multiply" according to Feiler. He argues that the only way Adam and Eve can do that is to continue to turn towards each other in hardship and, unlike so many of us in our baser moments, not vilify one's partner. To forgive the shortcomings of one's partner and re-commit to the relationship. He states that love is "not a choice we make once; it's a choice we make multiple times." Eve chooses to return to Adam after eating the fruit and Adam chooses not to reject her. They chose to make a new life together. They chose to stay together even after one of their children kills the other. They even chose to recommit to the marriage by having another child-- a sure sign that each believes in the relationship. Feiler calls love "an act of imagination, an act of commitment and ultimately an act of love to re-choose someone after a difficult time." He adds, "That choice is much harder than the first." I can't think of a more poetic way to describe what it takes to succeed in marriage. To continue to re-choose at every turn. To doggedly, even when one's own hope is waning, re-choose to be "all in." This is what we mean when we talk about putting one's partner first in PACT. Protecting the "couple bubble" and nurturing it. Many years ago I met an older couple who had been married several decades. As is my practice I asked "what's the secret?". The man replied "my wife is not the same person that I married all those years ago. She has changed many times, and each time I fall in love with the new version of herself." He smiled as though he were the luckiest man alive-- to have been able to love different versions of the same woman for nearly half of his life. I think most of us would hope to be so lucky. He continued to choose her. That's love. Not the easy kind of love you see in Hollywood or that we grew up with in our princess and prince charming fantasies. The real kind where you double down and recommit, knowing that come what may you have each other. Wishing you health, happiness and connection in all of your relationships, Dr. Jordan
5 Comments
Beth Graves
5/23/2018 06:56:32 pm
This is a very old belief/vow. One I think we wish to uphold for “as long as we both shall live”, if one truly believes in honest, true love. Committing your self to one person through the unity of marriage is always worth circling the wagons. Ultimately one can only do so much though. Interesting article.
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2/21/2020 05:15:03 am
great quotes & wishes for mom!!! I love to share it with my mom on this mothers day btw Thanks a lot
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8/26/2020 04:06:16 pm
What was the sin in Eden? Adam and Eve both committed an act of oral sex, one to please the other; Eve first, and then Adam. This is sin for everyone. It is sin for a man and his wife, sin for a male and a female who are not married to each other, sin for two women, and sin for two men. It was, always has been, and still is sin; the basic, root misconduct that is the source of all earth’s problems. All the wrongs of the past, all the social ills and sorrows we are experiencing on earth today and will continue to experience until sin ends, are a result of the first sin. A man and his wife who commit this first act of rebellion against God cannot say they do not stand in the foolish and spiritually dead cities of Sodom and Gomorrah along with the bisexual and the homosexual.
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AuthorKrista Jordan, Ph.D., ABPP Archives
September 2018
CategoriesAll Affairs Affection Anger Attachment Betrayal Books Co Dependency Co-dependency Commitment Communication Connection Courage Depression Divorce Dr. Stan Tatkin Family Healing Insecurity Interdependency Intimacy Love Marriage Meditation Neuroscience PAC PACT Podcast/Video Quotes Relationships Self Discovery Sex Stress Technology Therapy Trauma |
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