Great Couples = Better Health

August 8, 2021

Good morning my friends.  I hope you’re taking plenty of time to enjoy summer and celebrate life this year.  The craziness of 2020, which seems to continue in several variations today, should have shown us the importance of life.  It is a fragile, limited time opportunity to live a happy and prosperous life.  We should be thankful by showing our gratitude and love with each new day.  Don’t settle to just exist throughout your journey of life.  If you remain in the same mindset, closed, without growth, nothing improves and dreams are not lived.  Consistently challenge yourself to learn, develop and increase your knowledge.  New experiences and learning stimulate intellectual and physical growth.  Seek adventures and activities that complement your mind, body and spirit.  Accept change with openness, confidence and positivity.  Live life without fear.  Stay focused, healthy and happy.  If you’re in a wonderful relationship, with a partner or significant other that shares your dreams and visions, nurture and cherish its beauty.  Never take life or love for granted.  Great relationships are good for your health.   

I’m back on the road this week searching for a home and new place to live.  My life has been an interesting journey.  As much as I wish I could alter some past events, I do my best to live in the present.  The last seven years, since retirement, have been filled with an amazing mix of fun, emotions, break throughs and experiences.  For a variety of reasons, it appears I’ve run the full gamut of feelings; ranging from happy, heartbreaking, exciting, sad and back again.  I’ve learned much more about myself, relationships and life.  I’ve shared amazing adventures, experiences, memories and love I’ll forever cherish.  I discovered love, happiness, openness and emotions are free and wonderful feelings to share.  Let’s just say in the past, I wasn’t the most open person in the world.  Events and circumstances, from childhood and throughout my career, influenced my behavior.  It’s been an adventure and journey of my opening, growth and self-discovery.  I’m not  relationship expert, but even with heartbreak, I have learned it’s all part of the continual develop and processing of life.  At the present time I find myself in a new space filled with contentment and gratitude.  A new and improved version of me emerges more each day.  I’m confident the universe and God have a plan for me to follow.  My heart and soul are open to the possibilities and adventures of life and love.  Each new day is filled with amazing possibilities to expand my horizons and live my dreams.  It’s really pretty freaking cool!

This past week rekindled fond memories of loving couples.  Couples are an amazing and fabulous phenomenon of love.  When two people join together in a committed relationship, their bond unites them.  They form a partnership and lasting friendship to support and build their unique and special connection.  Working as a team, they can turn their dreams into reality, individually and together.  Their unity can be an unstoppable force of nature.  Great couples are truly a unique and special breed.  My parents would have celebrated their 72^nd wedding anniversary this past week.  My Dad passed away several years ago.  Death is part of life and something we will all face.  My Mom now resides in an Alzheimer’s care facility.  She exists, but she no longer lives.  This sad and tragic disease robbed her of her mind and memory; while it slowly devours the rest of her body.  My parents enjoyed 65 years of marriage.  That feat, in itself, is pretty fabulous!  What an amazing adventure it was for these two fabulous individuals.   It’s difficult for me to imagine being married that long.  They were a great example of amazing couples.  They had their moments, as all couples and individuals do, but they knew how to resolve their issues.  They were always able (and willing) to work together to get through to the other side.  When my Dad passed away, it became extremely evident how lost my Mom was without him.

Over the years I’ve heard stories, read articles and seen research studies about couples and health.  The analysis indicates couples connected in great relationships are happier, healthier, more successful and live longer.  Are you asking yourself, “why” or “how is this possible?”  I believe the answer is relatively simple.  My understanding reveals that contentment and harmony play a huge role in this theory.  Obviously, it’s easy to recognize the love amazing couples share.  I believe it comes down to more than just that.  It’s a compilation of many factors.  Honesty, trust, communication and knowing each other well are key factors.  Great couples share the same objectives and similar traits to make it all work.  What makes good couples great?  Let’s face it, we all have different personalities, characteristics and traits.  Life isn’t perfect and neither are humans.  Love that bonds all great couples, but understanding and commitment bind their actions.  They know how to blend their personalities together to build their love, trust and understanding.  Communication, clarity and compromise play a significant role in these great and lasting relationships.  I hope to reach that level of love and understanding some day too.  When you share a similar vision of life and love, it connects two individuals with a special bond.  Knowing how to achieve your desires and dreams together, assists in building that rare gift and connection.  You live your dreams together; as friends and lovers.   

I am lucky to know family, friends and relatives that all share phenomenal relationships and marriages.  I love to spend time with these people.  I know other individuals, similar to me, who haven’t always fared as well with love.  Typically, past events creep into my present, exposing unresolved issues that helped to derail me.  I’ve been working to resolve those issues, to ensure my future is bright and beautiful.  I strive to share the love and friendship with a woman; friend and partner.  Those relationships don’t just happen.  This week (and a few past) saw the union of two more wonderful couples.  The two men associated with these marriages are my great friends.  One is a fabulous cousin and the other a awesome work colleague.  They each found amazing new love with incredible women.  I just realized, both of their new wives share the same first name!   That’s pretty cool and interesting!  They are all great people and deserve a world full of happiness and love.  It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from; humans on this planet are all basically the same.  We may look different, speak various languages, live on continents across the globe and have a variety of personalities.  We all have feelings, emotions, make mistakes, but ultimately we all want happiness.  Remember, no one is perfect, nor is any relationship.  We’re all just human beings, living life the best we can.

Love and opening our hearts to others has some risk.  We all fear rejection and heartbreak.  It’s only natural to have some anxiety or hesitation when putting yourself “out there.”  I know and understand these experiences first hand.  I also know how amazing and awesome a fabulous relationship feels.  Several years ago, when I least expected love to find me, I experienced an amazing connection with an incredible woman.  The love we shared developed from the union of our spirits.  Issues from the past hindered our ability to sustain that blissful bond.  The heartbreak  and sadness is something we each suffered.  Knowing she experienced pain, hurt me beyond measure.  I know love exists and I know I want that feeling to envelop my entire being again.  I’ll gladly welcome love, and the intense and incredible sensation it brings to my mind, body and spirit.  Being in love with the right partner, is brilliant beyond all description.  It’s fantastic!

Like most great accomplishments in life, great relationships don’t just happen.  You must be present and put in the effort daily.  You can’t force or control the great love of two individuals.  This is a natural process that occurs over time.  It’s built from the mutual respect and admiration they share for each other.  Finding the right mate, partner, companion or friend shouldn’t be based on looks, money or possessions.  It should be based on so much more than physical attractions.  Communication, openness, shared desires and the blending of two personalities are the beginning.  When you find an incredible person, you enjoy spending time with, it may be a match made in heaven.  Build your friendship on a solid foundation of trust, honesty and love.  Shared activities, dreams and desires are a fabulous beginning to establish a unique and special connection.  Great couples share, grow and experience the fabulous treasures of life together.  They offer each other unconditional support, understanding, insight and love.  Do you see the beauty in life, or just exist?  I chose to see the beauty in each new day on earth.  I live each day with gratitude, happiness and love.  Life and love are amazing gifts.  Please don’t waste a single moment.  Follow your dreams.  They know the way.

Please tune in and join me again next Sunday for more!  The healthy life puzzle is always in rotation.  Let’s be healthy and strong mentally, physically and spiritually!

Thanks for your love and support!  Embrace Life!  Be sure to get outside and enjoy nature!