Short-Lived Affairs

I get a lot of awesome ideas and inspiration from CP articles in the newsletter and on the blog. There were two recently – one on the blog by Psychic Faith and a newsletter article titled Set Reasonable Goals: How to Manage Expectations – which helped me clarify something which I hadn’t thought of until a number of readings over the past 2+ years brought it to my attention.

What if some relationships are meant to be deep and intense, but temporary — sort of like the gift of a dozen roses or a bottle of exceptional scotch or whiskey?

I see this possibility in readings, especially for people who have just finished a difficult divorce or an abusive relationship. My Tarot tells me that there is a lovely and passionate relationship in the offing, but that it will be short-lived. Although I study traditional Tarot for personal development, I use James Wanless’ Voyager Tarot during readings, and in that deck he uses flowers to symbolize cups, expressing both the beauty and the transitory nature of emotions. The 1 of Cups is called Ecstasy, and when I get that in the “future” position, I know it means this kind of gift will be offered soon.

We don’t expect the roses to last forever, but we’re more than willing to revel in the fragrance or flavor or beauty of that kind of gift for as long as it lasts. The same goes for pets – we know at the outset that no matter how much we love them, we don’t get to have them around for all our lives.

Why aren’t we willing to do this in our love and sexual relationships? Certainly one big reason is that we rarely know going in that this magical time has an expiration date. Another reason is that few of us are willing to believe that there might be other possibilities as intense and wonderful as the relationship that’s over.

What would you do if you were offered a unique, once in a lifetime gift that you could keep for only a short time – say roses whose beauty and fragrance were unique in the world, or the opportunity to run a marathon and win big that marks the end of your running career rather than the beginning… or a magical relationship. What would you say? Wow, yes! Or no, thanks, I would be too unhappy when it’s over so I’ll just pass.

There is no pat answer that suits everyone. Personally, I’m one of the people described in that great quote that goes around the Internet every so often: “When I die, I want to go skidding up to the pearly gates, party hat askew, champagne in one hand, chocolate dipped strawberries in the other, shouting ‘Woooo-HOOOO, what a ride!” So, if it looks really delicious or sinfully enticing –even if I knew ahead of time I wouldn’t get to enjoy it for the rest of my life — I’d probably go for it.

What about you?