Relationships

I have never, ever had a „real” relationship. Yet, when, along with other participants, I was asked to draw a mandala based on how I see a relationship, I took the task.

First, two things which Monica-Daniela Găitănaru said this evening at the event (in bold, approximate idea, not exact quotation):

• „Relationship” and „religion” have some connections in their roots. I found out the following:
  • Religion (from O.Fr. religion „religious community,” from L. religionem (nom. religio) „respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods,” „obligation, the bond between man and the gods”) is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possibility is an interpretation traced to Cicero, connecting lego „read”, i.e. re (again) + lego in the sense of „choose”, „go over again” or „consider carefully”. Modern scholars such as Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell favor the derivation from ligare „bind, connect”, probably from a prefixed re-ligare, i.e. re (again) + ligare or „to reconnect,” which was made prominent by St. Augustine, following the interpretation of Lactantius. (Religion – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
  • Religion (n.) c.1200, „state of life bound by monastic vows,” also „conduct indicating a belief in a divine power,” from Anglo-French religiun (11c.), Old French religion „piety, devotion; religious community,” and directly from Latin religionem (nominative religio) „respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods; conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation; fear of the gods; divine service, religious observance; a religion, a faith, a mode of worship, cult; sanctity, holiness,” in Late Latin „monastic life” (5c.). According to Cicero derived from relegere „go through again” (in reading or in thought), from re- „again” (see re-) + legere „read” (see lecture (n.)). However, popular etymology among the later ancients (Servius, Lactantius, Augustine) and the interpretation of many modern writers connects it with religare „to bind fast” (see rely), via notion of „place an obligation on,” or „bond between humans and gods.” In that case, the re- would be intensive. Another possible origin is religiens „careful,” opposite of negligens. In English, meaning „particular system of faith” is recorded from c.1300; sense of „recognition of and allegiance in manner of life (perceived as justly due) to a higher, unseen power or powers” is from 1530s. Online Etymology Dictionary.
  • relation (n.) late 14c., „connection, correspondence;” also „act of telling,” from Anglo-French relacioun, Old French relacion „report, connection” (14c.), from Latin relationem (nominative relatio) „a bringing back, restoring; a report, proposition,” from relatus (see relate). Meaning „person related by blood or marriage” first attested c.1500. Stand-alone phrase no relation „not in the same family” is attested by 1930. (Online Etymology Dictionary).
  • relationship (n.) 1640s, „sense or state of being related,” from relation + -ship. Specifically of romantic or sexual relationships by 1944. (Online Etymology Dictionary).
• Men tend to prefer air / fire elements, while women are more inclined towards earth and water. (more on this – Fire, Water, Air, Earth)

Something about Taurus / Earth:

Earth – Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn

You can always depend on an earth element to be on time, get the bills paid and accumulate great wealth. My best friend is leaving on a plane today, moving her entire family of four to Kenya. Between calling 10 different pharmacies for the best prescription price for protective meds, organizing, cleaning and renting their home for a year, and making sure her two boys (5 and 8) have everything they need, etc., etc…well you get the idea. When an earth person commits to the plan, it gets done.

Earth people are the creators of the structure of the world. Without them we’d be lost. Earth has standards that cannot be met (standards off the Richter scale as my teacher likes to say), although their diligent attention to perfection gets them more then they ever dared admit they wanted. So practical, why did I have to accumulate so much? Home bodies, lovers, singers, cooks as well. Earth people make a home a home.

(source – Astrology and the Four Elements – Earth, Air, Fire, Water – Nicole Wane, L.Ac., M.S., Intuitive Healer)

Ok, back on the drawing things, I drew the following mandala representing a relationship.

A good painter never explains his work. Since I’m not a good painter, I feel forced to do otherwise.

In here, you see at the middle two eyes. They can be shut (the blue line at the middle), or they can be wide-wide open, with big surprise. It’s the transition between being asleep (prior to the relationship) and being wide awake and amazed (during it).

In the top-left quadrant, below, you see some blue lines, like a graph. It’s the passion during the relationship. Prior to it, below, it was monotone. On the lower-right quadrant, you see the passion for the other partner, and, again, no intense passion prior to the relationship (above it).

The eyes should have been symmetrical, they were meant to look identical no matter where you looked at them. They aren’t. :) In the top-left corner you see a dot (red). In the lower-right quadrant, the space is filled with red. That’s the duration of the relationship. It can be a dot, or it can fill your whole life. It can last for less than a second, or it can last for a lifetime. What I mean with this is the actual meeting between the two persons in the relationship – an instant or an eternity. On the other hand, love itself, the feeling, is like the eyes in the middle – they also stand for infinite. ∞ It never ends.

In the top-left and lower-right quadrants, below, you see a lever. Each part offers and receives something from the relationship. Things needn’t be exact complementary, but, all-in-all, the parties, each, win something out the relationship.