Two Laws of Chronic Resentment

“There are two laws of chronic resentment.  The first is, ‘Nothing is too petty to resent.’  But the second, more damaging law is, ‘Resentment always winds its way, in some form or other, to the wife or husband, no matter what stimulates it in the first place.’

— Steve Stosny, You Don’t Have to Take It Anymore:  Turn Your Resentful, Angry, or Emotionally Abusive Relationship into a Compassionate, Loving One, p. 24

Lasting Love

“There is a great deal of ‘how to’ literature about keeping love alive that can be distilled into two words:  persistent effort.  When we are held back, pushed aside, ignored, hurt, rejected, we must be like the heart that keeps beating even in the damaged body; we must persist.  If we are not prepared to be resilient in love, we need to be prepared for a short relationship!

“Nearly everyone is guilty of having thrown up their hands in despair over some seemingly loveless act or unsolvable problem in relating.  Every attempt at rectifying the situation seemed to push us into another dizzying failure until we finally lost the motivation, if not the reason, to try once more.

“Since we cannot live without love, we must rise up and try again.  It helps if we keep in mind that there are few obstacles that can resist perseverance, determination, patience, and most of all, more love.”

–Leo Buscaglia, Born for Love, p. 33