With the essence of the good life being
manifested in the connections between people, the connection between the man
and the woman, the basic affiliation of life, therefore would amply
illustrate the mystery and the joy of love. The interplay, or completeness,
of the love relation between the man and the woman can be illustrated by the
anatomical structure of each. The anatomy of the male reveals he was created
to give. The anatomy of the female reveals she was created to receive. The
giving and receiving is such that they both need each other to complete the
cycle of life, the joy of love.
The cycle of true love is mystery to the natural mind. Instead of living in
the cycle, the natural man will always attempt to experience life by
violating the cycle through the rape of another person. He will attempt to
use the other person for his own enhancement. Abusive relationships are
always formed where the self-centeredness of one is enhanced at the expense
of the other.
From the inception of evil into a good creation, it seems that man has
attempted to experience life in himself and by himself. Taking the
responsibility of life into the framework of his own mind, withdrawing
within himself, man has excluded others in his search for life. Even if
others become a vital part of his life, they are used only in an attempt to
meet his own perceived needs. Standing alone, he has failed the provocation
of the relationship of love.
The solution to this problem is found only in the mystery of true
relationships. For example, although the male was created to give, he
actually receives in his giving. Likewise, the woman, who was created to
receive, actually gives in her receiving. They complete each other in the
good life.
This essence of love that flows in both directions (life in the cycle)
occurs when the giving of the first individual is received by the second
individual. At the same time, the receiving of the second individual becomes
the giving which is received by the first individual. This
giving/receiving--receiving/giving that is experienced in the interaction of
the individuals is that which completes the relationship. It is the cycle of
life, the joy of love, that overcomes the fragments of death.
Life is complete when the cycle is not broken. It is complete when the
relationship becomes greater than the sum of the two individuals. This
completeness occurs only when the relationship becomes spiritual--the
experiencing of love in the connection.
The cycle of life is always broken or impaired without the manifestation of
love. For example, when the man (who was created to give and consequentially
receive in his giving at the same time) is not experiencing love in the
relationship, he attempts only to receive without any thought of giving. He
forces himself upon the woman and rapes by taking that which was not
received freely from the woman. He becomes a user.
When the woman (who was created to receive and consequentially give in
her receiving, is not experiencing love in the relationship) she attempts
only to give without any thought of receiving. She forces herself upon the
man and rapes by giving that which was not received freely from the man. She
becomes a dominator.
Mysteriously, to experience life nothing less than life itself can be given
and received. The one giving must allow the one receiving to give. The one
receiving must allow the one giving to receive. When one attempts to receive
without giving, or, give without receiving, the cycle is broken and the joy
of love is lost.
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