Sexual Exploration Adds Comedy

After all of the mean letters I’ve received from people who are upset about my book, House of Lies, I was pleased to find this email in my Inbox this morning.

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Dear Susan, I enjoy your outlook on sex and marriage.  I was wondering if you had any advice on how to affair-proof a marriage?

Mariah

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Well, Mariah, I wish I had a magic solution to “affair-proof” marriage, but unfortunately there isn’t one.  Affairs happen because people make mistakes.  The human heart, mind and psyche can be fallible, corruptible and, at times, weak.  We choose unwisely, not realizing all we have to lose or the people that may be hurt in the process.  There is no magic solution.  However, I believe there are ways to minimize the chances.

Unbeknownst to a lot of people, marriage isn’t just about love.  You can love someone and still end up making a stupid decision.  Marriage is about working to protect that love.

How?  When we lose the metaphors, what does that look like in real life?

I believe it’s all about staying connected.  Communication is the conduit that holds partners together.  It’s the pipeline.  If the pipe gets clogged, everything backs up; so you have to keep yourself open.  Communication comes in many forms and all of them are important. 

Key to marital success is to know and understand your partner.  You need to know them from the inside out.  Mentally, Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically….these are all key components to the whole.  Men and women are made differently, and I believe that was God’s design.  He made opposites attract so that we would complement one another with our differences.  I’m going to speak in generalities here for a moment, realizing that this doesn’t apply to all people, but to a majority.  Men are simpler creatures than women.  They tend to be less emotional and more logical.  They tend to breeze over the details and get to the summation.  They tend to let things roll off their back easier than a woman.  Their needs are fewer than ours.  That is not to say that their needs are less important than ours. Women are emotional creatures.  We are more intuitive and sensitive than men.  We get our feelings hurt easier and we hold a grudge longer. Our needs are extensive and ever-changing.

·          Men need to feel respected, enjoyed, loved, wanted and needed.  (See video)  

·          Women need to feel beautiful, wanted, loved, respected, needed and enjoyed.  (See video)

If you look at the raw, natural elements of the sexes, your partner’s basic needs become clear. 

For example:  Men need to feel respected for who they are and what they do.  Berating a man or minimizing his role in your life tears him down at a core level.  Similarly, women have an innate desire to feel beautiful.  Making a woman feel that she is ugly or unattractive, or making her believe that you are no longer attracted to her, tears her down at a core level.  Core-level damage clogs the communication conduit.  Over time, if the clog isn’t removed the marriage becomes endangered.   Temptation lies just around the corner.  If a man feels berated at home and then meets a woman who lavishes him with words of approval and respect….with whom will he desire to communicate?   Likewise, if a woman is made to feel unattractive and unappreciated at home and then meets a man who dotes on her with words of affirmation and wanting…with whom will she desire to communicate?

Your job in marriage is to know your partner’s needs and then meet those needs.  Your job is to hold one another up, to support, to nurture, to excite and to love so that as you grow, you are growing more openly together and not apart. 

If you know your partner’s needs and ignore them, do not be surprised if, over time, they end up in the arms of someone who meets those needs.  That is the harsh reality of the human heart’s design.

Your job is to keep the communication conduit open so that you can know one another better.  With knowledge comes the power to make a difference.  This takes the work and commitment of both partners.  One person cannot do it alone.  The two must come together as one in order for the marriage to flourish.

Success often lies in the little things.  My husband and I have been married for twenty years and there have been some rough patches along the way.  One of the many things I have learned is that marital success lies in the consistency of doing the little things.  Often it is the little things that are the most meaningful.  Tiny acts of love and appreciation carry far more weight than most people realize. 

For example:  my husband fills my coffee cup and brings it to me in the morning.  I’ve never asked him to do this.  He just does it out of love for me. He might think it’s no big deal, but to me, it warms my heart.  It shows me that he thought of me and it’s an effort of directing his attention on me for a brief moment at the start of the day.  It’s a tiny gesture but it’s wonderfully meaningful.  Another example is that whenever my husband and I sit together on the couch, which is rare with our busy schedules, we hold hands.  It’s simple, but it signifies a connection, a longing, and a certain comfort.  In addition, we always kiss goodnight…even if we are angry at one another…we ALWAYS kiss goodnight.  It’s an unspoken vow that says, “even though you piss me off, I love you and I’m not going anywhere.”

Now… there is one element of communication I have yet to discuss… Sex.  It’s important.  It’s essential.  Sexless marriages aren’t fulfilling for either partner.  Period.  I’ve spoken with a lot of couples through the years and never once has anyone said to me, “thank God we don’t have sex.” More likely the complaint is, “she doesn’t want sex,” or “he wants it too much,” or “he doesn’t find me attractive,” or “she’s always too tired.”  These are common marital challenges involving sex. 

Let me speak frankly:  Men, you need to understand that for a woman to desire sex, she needs to feel sexy and beautiful.  YOU have to find a way to make her feel that way about herself so that she will be more prone to respond positively to your sexual advances. Women, you need to understand that men always want sex.  They want it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They want it, want it and want it and your husband wants it from YOU.

God created human beings with a sexual drive.  Most men have a greater sex drive than most women and that’s okay.  Thank God they do!  Because if they didn’t there would be more sexless marriages in the world and more miserable people.  Sex is a necessary component of a marriage.  And hear me out on this… it’s SUPPOSED to be fulfilling.  Sex is not supposed to be a chore, a have-to or a dreaded experience.  If it is then you’re doing it wrong.  It shouldn’t involve guilt or pressure.  It should be fun, erotic, playful and loving.  Sex between a married couple should be the best sex of all because you have the freedom to make it whatever you want it to be.  It’s a safe place for exploration.  Everybody’s body is unique.  What takes one person to the throes of ecstasy, another person will find annoying.  That’s why it is imperative that you get to know your partner’s body.  The safety of sexual exploration is one of the great benefits of marriage.  Instead of moaning about getting too little or your partner wanting too much, put your heads together and find a way to sexually satisfy one another. 

How?  Dress up. Role play. Buy some toys.  Watch a kinky movie.  Read Penthouse Letters. Go to a nude beach. Explore things of a sexual nature together and see what turns you and your partner on.  If you bump into something you find offensive, turn it off or walk away.  If you try something that hurts,  don’t try it again.  But, read your partner’s body language as you explore.  If there is something that heats them up, make a mental note to incorporate that activity into your sex life.  If she needs bubble baths and rose petals to get in the mood to make love, then do it.  If he needs you to put your hair in pigtails and don a pair of bobby socks, do it.  Do whatever you and your partner need to get it on…because sex should be one of the fun, let-off-steam, exciting elements of your marriage.  Marriage takes hard work and sex is one of the fun benefits you get to reap for putting in the work.

Married people have the ability to climax together every day... so why are you not taking advantage of the joys of physical bonding? Get on - Get in - and Get off together!  Get excited about it.! The sexual energy you share will propel your marriage into a better place.  Sexual exploration adds comedy, it gives the two of you secrets about which only you two can giggle, it adds a depth that other forms of communication lack.  It works in conjunction with verbal, mentalm, spiritual and emotional intimacy and heightens all of these. 

Your job as a spouse is to be there… to be emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and physically available.  When two become one they share everything.  That means thoughts, prayers, hardships, joys and orgasms.  That’s what marriage is all about.

Can you affair-proof it?  No.  But you can make yours so open, so uplifted, so entangled in each other that temptation can scarcely find a foot-hold in either of your hearts.  Work hard to meet one another’s needs, wholly and intentionally, and in doing so, you will minimize the urge for either of you to look elsewhere. 

The best things in life take hard work and marriage is no exception; but it’s worth it. ~

 

 

The Orange-Obsessive Zone

Someone asked me a question that is difficult to answer.  In fact, I don’t think it has just one answer.  The question posed was this:  “If someone you love is involved in something that you believe to be dangerous, and you have tried to communicate your concern, at what point do you give up and walk away?”

I don’t know. I suppose it all depends upon the situation; but here’s what I do know.

Love says fight for them, for their safety, for their physical well-being, and for their emotional, mental and spiritual balance.  Reality says you cannot continue to beat your head against a wall if they are not listening to you and don’t care about your concerns.  So, how long do you fight for someone you love?

Time, experience and heartache have taught me one thing:  Love and respect must be mutual for a relationship to flourish. If you take your concern to someone you love and they refuse to listen; then what is the point of further talking.  If you open your heart to reach them and they ignore your words or worse yet, tell you that you are deceived; perhaps it is time to let go.

Life is about making choices.  People can choose to live out of balance or balanced lives.  The burden of that choice falls on their shoulders, as do the consequences. Obsessive behavior destroys relationships because with that obsession comes isolation from those who don’t share in the obsession.  It often takes relationships that were once meaningful and causes them to have a fake, surface-level feel.   

For example:  if I eat oranges every day for every meal and it is the only thing I eat; is that a healthy choice?  Sure, oranges are rich in Vitamin C and have qualities that are good for my body; but a diet of only oranges is not healthy.  Then, if I grow my own oranges and all I talk about is oranges, and I attend orange conventions and speak on orange growing; what becomes of the people in my life who don’t like oranges?  What do we then discuss?  Eventually, with a diet of only oranges, my skin would begin to tint orange.  I would stand out as odd-looking, that is, unless I surrounded myself with other people who only ate oranges.  Then, I would fit in and never have to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of being around those that were not as unbalanced in their orange consumption as I had become. By becoming obsessive about oranges, I have isolated non-obsessive people from my life.  I’ve created my very own orange-obessive-zone.

The point is, there are things in life that have goodness in them, when they are taken in moderation.  Too much of a good thing can quickly become a bad thing.  Obsessive behavior destroys relationships because it is a life that has spiraled into an out-of-balance tailspin, casting everyone and everything else aside.

If someone you love is living out-of-balance, and you have tried with all of your might to show them the damage their lifestyle has and is causing, then it might be time to walk away.  If they don’t respect you and love you enough to care about your concerns for them, then why are you continuing to beat your head into the wall they have built?

Pray for them.  Be there if they ever decide that they need you.  Love them from afar.  BUT… if watching them destroy themselves, their family and their friendships is painful, then don’t watch.  Looking away isn’t turning your back; it’s simply guarding your own heart from the pain they have caused.  You can only try so many times and endure so much rejection and be told that you are deceived and wrong so many times before you finally have to accept that they do not care. Your opinion doesn’t matter to them.

Addictions come in many forms.  There are workaholics, spendaholics, sexaholics, alcoholics, drugaholics, religionaholics, sportsaholics, etc.  There are mental addictions, physical addictions, emotional addictions and spiritual addictions.  ANY addiction is unhealthy and throws life out of balance.  There is no “right” addiction.  There is no “harmless” addiction.  If someone is addicted to something… if they have made something their entire existence…if they eat it, drink it, breathe it, think it, love it, live it and nothing else… it IS harmful to them, no matter how good it looks or feels.

When you confront a loved one about an addiction and they are more willing to lose you forever than to loosen their grip on the compulsion that has taken over their life… that’s a problem…that’s an addiction…and they need help.  The painful part is that you can’t force them into caring.  You can’t force them back into a state of balance.  

Only they can change…and if they refuse…then maybe it’s time you let go and walk away.  ~