Lifelong Partners, Lifelong Growth

Many people, maybe even you, think there is only one life partner for each of us in our lives. I've got good news ? we all have many, many life partners. A life partner doesn't have to be a romantic partner. A life partner is anyone with whom you share long term growth, internally and externally. Relationships in which you can grow with another person as change inevitably occurs are life partnerships. So the pressure is off -- you don't have to look for "the one" anymore.

A life partner can be a romantic partner, or a family member, a friend, a coworker, maybe even an animal. My horses are certainly partners in my life, and we have grown together immensely. Any good relationship is centered on growth. All things, all life inevitably changes, including you and me. If I think back even five years ago to the person I was then, and the person I am now, I can see the huge evolution that has taken place. Most of the relationships I had five years ago have dissolved. And some of them have evolved. I have grown, and the other person has grown. It is through this growth that we have been able to maintain the relationship.

In a way, there are no permanent relationships, because all long-term relationships go through changes. If you are looking for a long-term partner, look at the potential to grow together. Look for fluidity and flexibility. Like the shoreline of the ocean, the sun never rises on a relationship that is exactly the same as it was the day before. The sand pattern will have changed, even if just a little. New seashells may have washed up ? or even something bigger like a piece of driftwood or wreckage from a ship. Every day brings new change.

Have you ever seen a toddler throw a temper tantrum, kicking and screaming and flailing on the floor? Often the rantings of young children are caused by frustration when they are trying to learn something new. When they are trying to walk and keep falling down, they understandably get upset. When they are learning to talk and no one understands their words, it often brings them to tears. These things happen when they are exploring their growth edges, learning things they have never learned before. You too encounter growth edges and they can be just as frustrating to adults as they can to toddlers. When you reach a place you've never been before, the new territory can be exciting, but can also be frightening and maddening.

Just as you hit individual growth edges, relationships hit growth edges, too. When in a partnership, it is inevitable that you'll come to places you've never been before. Good partnerships often go through extreme challenges, and actually it is often these partnerships that are the strongest. It is the ability to work through the challenge of growth that makes a great relationship. The new territory soon becomes known, just as the toddler learns to walk and talk. So if you and your partner sometimes drive each other nuts, know that this experience provides invaluable growth to you and the relationship. All relationships go through occasional rough patches. It is how you work through them together that matters.

Look around you. Who are your life partners? Who provides you with rich and stimulating growth? I bet if you think about it awhile, you'll find that you have an abundance of life partners. Life changes, relationships change. Explore new horizons, deeper valleys and higher mountains together!

Copyright 2005, Alexia Alderson Chamberlynn

Alexia Alderson Chamberlynn is the Co-Owner of Prosperity Power Training, LLC, a national training company specializing in e-learning, life coaching and live group training. To contact Alexia or sign up for free services such as a Free 7-Day Training Program, free monthly newsletter and free quote-of-the-day club, visit the website at http://www.prosperitypowertraining.com. Alexia expects to release her first novel in 2005. Alexia lives in Florida with her son Gareth.