Marriages are Made in Heaven

Day after day, in our work of over 20 years counselling people from all walks of life, the message is loud and clear: "More than career, money, success, it is personal and family relationships that affect our happiness the most." And marriage is the foundation on which a family rests. The fact is that marriage is one of the best relationships that we can have in our life. It has the power to take you to the heights of ecstasy or the depths of misery. But the moot point is that a happy and harmonious marriage does not drop into our lap – it has to be built up, nurtured, carefully strengthened and followed up with commitment. Most marriages run into trouble not because of incompatibility of the partners, but because of poor communication, misunderstandings and different expectations.

Sadly very few people understand the need to prepare for and work towards a successful marriage. There is more to selecting a life partner than just 'falling in love', or 'selection and approval of the parents', often with 'matching of horoscopes'. With changing lifestyles, and the higher expecations, achievements and aspirations of young people, we find that many have not been giving serious thought to how a life partner should be selected. My workshops on “Preparing for Marriage” get the least response compared to all other topics. Divorce rate in all countries is rising at a phenomenal pace, violence in marriage is being reported every day, unhappy children are growing up to perhaps themselves become incompetent spouses in future.

Shall we do something about it?