Woman: the crowning creation, bearers of life, keepers of wisdom. Their frailty belies their strength. The feminine energy is graceful, nurturing, sensual, regenerative, selfless and shrewd. They are the embodiment of love. In my opinion, they are the source of all primal instruction in humans and in so many ways the stronger of the sexes.
Man: the first creation, laborers, providers, protectors, explorers. Their strength belies their frailty. The masculine energy is aggressive, rational, generous and brave. Their need for security compels them to dominate or follow the most dominant. In my opinion, though often impetuous, they are noble, kind and have the ability to be every bit as nurturing and loving as women.
I believe that these roles are not entirely fixed and that both men and women are capable of embodying or exhibiting both masculine & feminine energies.
I believe that both energies are essential to balance and wellbeing.
I believe that men and women should be able to take pride in their innate strengths, energies and abilities and equally, respect, enjoy and benefit from the strengths, energies and abilities in their counterparts.
I believe that healthy, gratifying and enduring relationships are achieved when both energies are equally represented (in either partner). The key to equality is recognizing and respecting one another's energies, strengths and frailties as being equal to our own.
I believe that frailty, or vulnerability is not weakness. Weakness is a lack of strength. One can be both strong and fragile or vulnerable at the same time. Vulnerabilities were assigned to us by our creator and are therefore not a fault. Faults are when we do not live up to our potential or utilize our strengths. When we sense vulnerability in our partner we should find the strength in ourselves to be the nurturing counterbalance.
I believe that failure to accept ourselves (and our partners) for who we are and how we were created results in turmoil. When one sex tries to control, manipulate or change the other, and imbalance is created.
That is not to say that there is no need to improve ones self. It is our duty to learn, grow & gain enrichment; to overcome our faults and learn to live and love to our full potential.
When we observe a fault in our partner, rather than judge or criticize our partner for the fault, we must look inward to see if the fault we are being presented with is not one that we exhibit ourselves. Unconditional love knows no condemnation.
If we feel the urge to criticize or condemn, then something is out of balance. True love is understanding, patient and forgiving. If we do not feel like being patient or forgiving, then something is wrong in ourselves or out of balance with our partner and we must take time to identify what that is.