Give space to each other. So that, your relationship could survive COVID-19

The Buddha states sometimes it's better to be kind than to be right. We don't need an intelligent mind that speaks, but a patient heart that listens. We're spending more time indoors, more time than ever, living in close quarters, doing every activity together. They call it cabin fever described in the dictionary as the distressing, claustrophobic, irritability or restlessness, experienced when a personal group is stuck at an isolated location or in a confined quarters for an extended period of time.

We call it a relationship. And they say it's called relationship because we all need a boat, a ship to help us travel over troubled times. But sometimes, it can feel like were sinking. It's tough, trying to be the perfect partner, the perfect parent, the perfect person, when you have to be perfect all day.

We're in a state of discomfort, so everything feels too close for comfort. He says , "You don't help out around the house." And she says, "I'm trying to work." And he says, "but I'm just trying to get some face time." And then she says, "I need some space, Why don't you zoom out?" You are going to make mistakes, there's going to be debates and conflict because of the higher stakes.

When everyone's feeling the pain, but no one wants to talk about it for others sake because we're scared of scaring the other person. Our fears are out of place. You know what its like, our anxiety turns into anger, our pain turns into panic, our fatigue turns into friction. We end up saying mean things, things we don't even mean. We start saying, "You always do this or you never do that." But the truth is, no one always does something and no one never does anything. We all know that, but this isn't a logical or rational argument. so we're both losing.

As the Buddha teaches, we're not punished for our anger, we're punished by our anger. We need to stop judging ourselves for not having a plan, no one expected this. We need to stop making others feel guilty because we're in this together. We argue and wonder, why we can't figure it out, because there's something bigger at play, bigger than what this is about. The only way we can beat it is, if we stick together, put aside our differences, give each other space, still make a plan and make those special dates.

Remember, relationships don't always fail because people do bad things for each other, more often it's because they don't do good things to each other. Tell people how much they mean to you, remind them everyday, because the biggest virus is, if we forget to say, "I Love You", "I need you", "I miss you".

Remember to be kind to the people around you. Don't let this change the way you love people. Don't make this virus make you love people less. This is the time we need it the most.

Share with your loved ones.