Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life.

Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.

I am in Georgia this weekend to officiate a wedding, so it feels appropriate to record an episode discussing what a healthy relationship looks like.

As is often the case, we can more easily figure out what it doesn't look like and then

aim for the opposite. The problem with most

relationships is that when we enter into them we each bring a blueprint of

what we think it should look like instead of co-creating an ideal that works best for that

individual relationship. Where does it say that a couple has to go to bed together at the

same time, for example, share a bank account or have children.

We must question where those ideas come from and whether they even apply to us.

Most arguments stem from unexpressed expectations that go unsatisfied because of it.

In a healthy relationship, it's imperative, above all, to be supportive of one another.

Relationships are often misunderstood to be a simple commitment

between two people, a dedication to each other with a sense of belonging to one

another. You don't have to go very far to find people referring to one another as my spouse, my girlfriend.

There's a sense of belonging to one another and that kind of limited perspective breeds expectations, possessiveness, and disappointment.

It reeks of ownership, greed, ignorance, and selfish desire.

A healthy relationship on the other hand is an agreement

between two people to support one another in their spiritual practice. It is a

vow to encourage each other's dedication, devotion, and path. It is free from attachment

or expectations, yet full of caring and compassion. A healthy relationship is based on unconditional love, not on the need to possess, and

although you put plenty of heart into it, you lose nothing by giving love away.

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