Do you sometimtes honestly express to others how you feel? How do they react? Are they understanding or do they say: „Oh, it's not that bad', „Oh, I experienced much harder things“, „Oh, don't be like this“, „Oh, why do you cry“? „Lean into your own discomfort and take a moment to acknowledge, not stifle …
To understand each other (Part 5)
Paul Tournier writes in his book that in order to achieve understanding we need to accept our natural differences. He says that „instinctively, a very rational man is going to marry a very sentimental woman. Their complementing one another will, at the beginning, elicit an enthusiastic reaction in him. But later on he will want …
To understand each other (Part 4)
How do we achieve understanding? Paul Tournier writes in his book*: „One who feels understood feels loved, and one who feels loved feels sure of being understood. (…) Deep sharing is overwhelming, and very rare. A thousand fears keep us in check. First of all there is the fear of breaking down, of crying. There …
To understand each other (Part 3)
Paul Tournier points out that many couples who are married for a few years no longer „really talk to each other.“ And he means REAL talk, not only secondary matters, but „matters that are really essential, intimate, personal. After a few years the „thirst for discovery and for understanding has been dried. The problem is …
To understand each other (Part 2)
Here comes the continuation of my summary of the book „To understand each other. Classic wisdom on marriage“, Paul Tournier. I think the author has some interesting and valid points - I think: I am not even married one year, so I am looking forward to read your comments =) I try to excerpt the …
Understanding each other (Part 1)
Lately I read a little book about marriage. I saw so many different couples in my life and thought a lot about this topic. It is so sad, that so many marriages fail and the question is why? I thank God that I grew up in a very stable family environment, with loving parents and …
Handling differences and disagreements
A long time ago I heard from a book: Men are from Mars, women are from Venus (John Gray). I never read this book, even if it was very popular at this time. But the last 6 years I lived in a house with 3 other people and one of them had this book, so …