Regular readers will know I use a lot of metaphors to describe a relationship – a tripod, a thermostat, a couple bubble, a garden. One that I particularly like is that your relationship is like a boat that carries you through life.
It’s not ‘you and me’, which can too easily turn into ‘you versus me’. It’s you, me and us. We are both IN the ‘us’, IN the relationship, we are both IN the boat. If the boat is good, we’re good.
Now when the weather is fine, and the sailing is easy - you’re drinking your champagne and sunbaking on the deck or drinking a cold beer while fishing off the side. No problems there. But it’s when the weather turns bad and the ocean is rough, that’s when the boat really matters. If you’ve got a boat that’s not shipshape, if it springs leaks and falls apart, then you’re not going to make it safely through to calm seas, and if you don’t have the technical skills and knowledge to sail your boat, then you might not make it through either. In fact, if you don’t know how to sail you might not ever leave the dock and enjoy even the fine weather.
So, to have a ‘boat’ that carries... read more