Assignment 3 - Passion

Passion is something that I think both men and women strive for. The text book states that the media's portrayal of passion is what society's idea of passion is. What we see in the movies is what we want. In the beginning of my husband and I's relationship everything could have been considered passionate. We had only known each other a short time so everything was new and exciting. We were able to do spontaneous things  and experience our first date, our first kiss, our first Christmas, our first apartment and so on.

All of those things created passion in our relationship. Over time though these things have stopped creating passion. Christmas no longer brings passion, but frustration. Moving into a new apartment is not fun and exciting, but hard work and annoying. Things that once brought great amounts of passion to our relationship no longer do. However, I do not think that this means that the passion in our relationship is gone. I think it means that we, as a couple, need to find new things to introduce into our relationship to bring in passion. A surprise date, gift, hairstyle, or act of kindness can inspire passion.

The change in passion in our relationship can effect the way we communicate together. Because I do know him so well now, things that once excited me and made me excited to communicate with him no longer do.  I used to think his tendency to switch topics quickly in a conversation  was cute, whereas now I sometimes find it annoying that he can't stay focused. In these types of ways, our communication has changed with the passion levels.

I do think that some level of passion is necessary throughout most of our relationships. I think it is possible to have a happy relationship without passion, but I think maintaining a level of passion makes relationships flow easier. Passion in a long term relationship brings two people together. Although my husband and I don't have the amount of passion we had while we were dating, passion is still something we chase after. As our relationship grows we will find passion in new ways. The book implies that once passion is gone, it is gone forever. I don't agree with this at all. I have seen couples that have been married for 20+ years and have more passion that newlyweds. I think passion is something every relationship can have if they are willing to work for it. And I think it is a worthy thing to work towards.