The magic phrase ‘romantic relationship’ is quite popular, but I feel that the two notions are two different phenomena. Now imagine, like an expert Sushi chef, if you take the tiniest slice out of a huge chunk of a ‘romantic relationship’, then you should get an exact quantity of ‘romance’. So the question is – what’s the difference between ‘meaningful romance’ and ‘meaningful relationship’?
Well, you can share that tiny piece of romance with many (however, eventually the entire chunk would be finished in that process, at least logic says so). On the contrary, if you plan to maintain a ‘meaningful relationship’ then you should share that entire chunk with one person only. I know that the entire introduction was quite confusing, but I hope the rest of this blog will be able to clear my point.
Before I continue, I would like to mention that this piece is my personal opinion, on the basis of my observation and that this is not a thesis. Any person can go through all these experiences irrespective of their age, race, sex, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, etc. I am writing on the basis of my personal experiences; experiences, I have accumulated as a real living and breathing human being in the course of my social studies and later with hands on experience.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and they may feel “a person can have multiple meaningful romantic relationships with multiple partners”, and that doesn’t necessarily make one ‘romance-phobic’. This article is about those confused people who often ask themselves ‘is that a relationship or not’? Here are 7 signs that you are in a ‘meaningful romance’ and not in a ‘meaningful relationship’
You Both Are Not On The Same Page Of Life:
I am not talking about the ‘pace’, here I am talking about ‘page’. Professionally, you might both be polar opposites; one of you may be more successful than the other; but, what about your personal lives?
To be more precise, say one partner is running from pillar to post all alone to arrange money and other necessary resources in order to fix a personal crisis (e.g health). Meanwhile, the other partner is enjoying life with family and friends. Although that person is sending romantic texts frequently (probably out of guilt or just as a formality), would you call it a ‘meaningful relationship’?
Popular media always trying hard to feed us a myth and that is “opposite attracts each other”; whereas, the truth is “opposite never attracts each other”! For instance, if both of you fundamentally lives pole apart then nothing on this planet can bring you closer.
Under such circumstances, you should never indulge in such hallucinations; because, despite your best effort believe me, it is definitely a ‘meaningful romance’, since ‘meaningful relation’ implies ‘in sickness and in health’.
You Are Only Remembered Seasonally:
Yes, it’s another vital red flag. Never ignore the scenario when your partner only remembers you seasonally. It could be birthday, Valentine’s Day, anniversary (e.g. anniversary of your first meeting, the first hug, the first kiss, the first time you made love, etc.). On these occasions, both of you would see each other, exchange gifts, shower lots of affection and attention for some time, and once the season is over, you would find yourself all alone in your own world, and your partners would be busy in their lives. Well, if you are experiencing something like that then you are in a ‘meaningful romance’ since a ‘meaningful relationship’ is not a celebration of seasonal festivities.
You Are Not Prioritized:
I can remember one man who went to Sikkim to see the mesmerizing orchids blooming, while his wife was giving birth to their only child. Now, that man had two choices but he made the decision according to his priorities. I know, that was a slightly cruel example. However, think practically, as human beings, we have very limited abilities, we just can’t be at two places at the same time. Therefore, you should observe whether you get first priority in your partner’s life.
Does your partner manage to spend time with you on some ‘not so special occasions’ or does his or her schedule get in the way?
Basically, it’s very important to know how much you mean to your partner. If you are prioritized only according to your partner’s convenience then you are definitely in a ‘meaningful romance’, since a ‘meaningful relationship’ is never about one’s own convenience.
You Are Not 'Fulfilling' The Basic Conditions:
Yes! When your love is not unconditional then it’s romance. A common condition that I have heard is –“I love traveling and I am looking for someone who would travel with me”. It may sound weird but it’s true. However, my question is – “Would you choose your partner on the basis of ‘common hobbies’ or on the basis of ‘common values’?” Therefore, if you are listening to the same complaint constantly, that you could not fulfill the basic conditions, then you are in a ‘meaningful romance’.
You Prefer To Avoid Your Partner:
You are lonely, but despite that loneliness, you prefer avoiding your partner; because, in your life, now your partner’s presence is nothing but empty noise. You don’t enjoy his or her company the way you used to. Somehow you have realized you are nothing but an accessory for your partner. At that position, you can assure yourself that you are in a ‘meaningful romance’ and not in a ‘meaningful relationship’.
You Have Stopped Fighting For The Relationship:
We don’t fight to break our relationships, in fact, often we fight to save them. We shout because we want to be heard, we crave for minimum attention. However, when you stop fighting and slowly start praying for a ‘natural end’ to that relationship then finally, congratulations! This time you were in a ‘meaningful romance’ and not in a ‘meaningful relationship’. You have reached that point where you are desperately seeking an ‘amicable evaporation’ of the entire façade. Perhaps you are taking one of the most sensible decisions of your life and trust me, that decision would leave a very positive impact on your life.
I don’t know whether I missed something or not? I would love to hear your opinions too. If you feel you can relate to that article to some extent then I would recommend please like, comment, and share that article. Smiling Rainbow platform belongs to the LGBTQ community and my sincere urge to all of you please endorse the platform and give your valuable suggestions.
We consider economical independence as an important target that every member of our community should achieve. Therefore, we are in the process of launching to another platform as Remote Owls. The purpose of that platform is creating freelancing opportunities for our community members. We will keep you posted regarding the progress of these two platforms.
