Susie and Otto Collins

"Keeping Your Relationships Beautiful..."
by Susie and Otto Collins

During one of the recent storms in our area, a small tree fell on our property and created quite a mess.

As we were cutting the tree into pieces small enough to carry, Otto made an interesting connection between what it takes to make a beautiful yard and home and what it takes to make a beautiful relationship.

Otto really dislikes doing any kind of yard work such as clearing the brush, raking leaves, shoveling the snow or mowing the grass. Although he dislikes the work it takes to keep the property looking good, he has really come to appreciate how beautiful our home looks when it is taken care of.

It's the same way in your relationships. There are many things that you may dislike or maybe not want to take the time to do that will help you to create a beautiful relationship if you do them.

Every relationship that is important to you requires maintenance. The relationship has to be taken care of if you want it to be one that is close, connected, alive and full of passion.

Even if you don't care that your relationship is comparable to those in romance novels, it still requires that you pay attention to it and give it some ongoing care and love.

So what types of things do we consider to be important for the ongoing care of a great relationship?

--Be honest and talk about things as they come up between you. Don't bury your feelings. They only come up later as resentment. Whenever you find that you are feeling something that you haven't expressed, communicate these things as soon as and as lovingly as you can. So often people allow small issues to grow into mountains that come between them. Take care of them when they come up.

--Be considerate and grateful. Take the time to be considerate of each other and express your gratitude that you are in each other's lives. In many relationships, there is the temptation to take each other for granted. There may be the feeling that you don't have to be kind and express your love and gratitude to your partner because he/she already knows. Do it anyway.

We feel that being considerate and being grateful is a joyful way of life that helps to create a close, connected partnership.

--Make time to be together. When couples come together, they
often spend a lot of time getting to know one another and having fun together. Then, as children enter the picture and their attentions shift, their intention to spend time together gets buried and lost in their everyday activities.

What we are suggesting is to make it your intention to spend time together, really being together, even if it's to sit and talk alone for a few moments over coffee.

These are just some ideas that we use to keep our relationship beautiful.

We suggest that you don't just stop with these ideas that we're offering you here.

Come up with your own ideas for what it would take to create the kind of relationship that you really want and then do these things.

When you do, we think you will be well on your way to creating a more connected and beautiful relationship.

Susie and Otto Collins are married, life partners who are Relationship and Life Success Coaches, and authors of several books on relationships, including "Should You Stay or Should You Go?" "No More Jealousy" "Creating Relationship Trust" "Communication Magic" and "Attracting Your Perfect Partner." In addition to having a great relationship, they regularly write, speak and conduct seminars on love, relationships and personal growth. To read more free articles like this or to sign up for their free online relationship tips newsletter visit http://www.collinspartners.com or http://www.RelationshipGold.com