Have fun, learn together, and build your connection (for Baha’is and friends)…

Couple Discussion: Creating Unity with Friendship, Fun, Social Vitality, and Laughter
Based on the Teachings of the Bahá’í Faith and Marriage Education Resources

Engage in a discussion to accomplish these important aspects of this topic:

• To understand the dynamics in your relationship by reflecting upon spiritual principles and encouragement from marriage educators.
• To discuss your perspectives on fun, laughter, and social/leisure time activities as a couple.
• To take practical steps and make ongoing changes that help establish and maintain the fun, laughter, and social/leisure time as part of a vital, happy marriage.
• To do outreach to others and involve them in your social/leisure time to build friendships and community connections.

After completing this discussion module, you will be able to:

• Better understand the importance of the “lighter” side of marriage
• Understand how to have a social life/leisure time together
• Identify new practices for harmonious interactions
• Commit to gaining knowledge, interacting in new positive ways, and/or seeking professional guidance to enhance their relationship or marriage

Marriage is a social relationship. You talk, laugh, touch, cook, clean, and parent in a dynamic interaction with one another. Each couple’s flow is unique. Some couples are naturally more serious, and they are happy with this as the “culture” of their marriage. However, many couples appreciate including a lighter side in their relationship.

The ability to laugh together and appreciate the humorous aspects of your lives can strengthen your relationship and family life. As one of you shares, laughter can spread to lift the spirits of the other and on out to other family members. Laughter is often contagious. However, sometimes one person finds something funny, while the other remains indifferent, or even offended. This can be especially true when you have different cultural, social, or economic backgrounds. It is good to forgive quickly and actively invite types of light-heartedness that make both of you smile and laugh.

Having fun together when offering hospitality or socializing with others can also strengthen your connection with each other and contribute to building friendships. In addition, searching for positive aspects or humor when difficult circumstances arise, helps you bring your relationship back into a healthy balanced perspective so you can respond in unity together.

Laughter, humor, and leisure/social time as a couple can:

• increase the strength of your friendship
• help you cope more easily with difficulties
• make it easier to encourage and assist each other with personal growth and change
• increase energy and productivity
• deepen your emotional and physical intimacy
• increase harmony and marital satisfaction
• add balance to your lives
• help with relaxing and not taking yourselves too seriously
• help you feel grateful for your lives, marriage, and family

  “…[H]appy marriages are based on a deep friendship. By this I mean a mutual respect for and enjoyment of each other’s company. These couples tend to know each other intimately—they are well versed in each other’s likes, dislikes, personality quirks, hopes, and dreams. They have an abiding regard for each other and express this fondness not just in the big ways but through small gestures day in and day out. … Friendship fuels the flames of romance because it offers the best protection against feeling adversarial toward your spouse. … In the strongest marriages, husband and wife share a deep sense of meaning. They don’t just ‘get along’—they also support each other’s hopes and aspirations and build a sense of purpose into their lives together.” (Researcher: John M. Gottman, Ph.D., and Nan Silver, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work (2^nd), pp. 21-22; 28

Author: Susanne M. Alexander

Details:

Date: April 23, 2019
Publisher: Marriage Transformation
Format: eBook: PDF
Number of Pages: 25
Language: English