Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 29, 2003
I am a 28-year-old Indian lady. I am in love with a 30-year-old Indian guy for the last four years. We share many interests in common and get along well. We are both Ph.D. students.
The problem is the different communities to which we belong. We have a very complex social system and are allowed to marry only the person who belongs to our own community (caste). He belongs to a higher community than mine.
My boyfriend feels he would never be able to convince his parents for the marriage, nor has he attempted this. He strongly believes he would not be happy if he hurts his parents, so two years ago he asked me to stop contacting him. It was very painful for me, but at the same time I realized I cannot force him into a relationship.
We live in separate towns now. Until two months ago we had absolutely no contact, then he started contacting me. I know from his letters he is frustrated and lonely. Even though I stopped communicating with him, I love him with all my heart and cannot think of life with another man.
I answered his letters, which are mostly about academics, and never asked him why he broke up with me. I haven't discussed my future with him nor he with me. Things look so uncertain I am confused. Should I continue with him or not?
Reeta
Reeta, there are many reasons why people feel they are better than other people. A religious person might say we are full of pride, and our pride makes us want to feel superior. A scientist might say we are primates and primates arrange themselves in dominance hierarchies. But the reasons for social differences don't matter.
What matters is that you are revisiting a round of pain this man caused you two years ago. You are a bright, educated woman worthy of a man's love. Though you may care for him and he may care for you, he is letting something other than love make his choices.
He is not offering you marriage or apologizing for cutting you out of his life two years ago. He is wheedling his way back into your life in the same wheedling way he left it. He is coming back because he is lonesome, not because he is ready to defend you as the woman he loves.
When a person cannot swim, it doesn't mean they can jump in the water two years later unless something has changed. You need to tell him that.
If he hasn't changed, you are indulging yourself in something which can only cause you pain. If you give him a shoulder to cry on, all you are likely to get is a wet shoulder.
Wayne & Tamara
The Open Road
My name is June, and I have a friend, Mary. Mary is 45 and very overweight. We ride our Harleys together all the time. Mary wears her shirts tied up in a big knot, and her huge tummy sticks out. It is very, very unattractive and very embarrassing to me.
I watch people stare, I hear their comments, and I hate it. I'm five feet tall, petite, and I don't even wear my clothes like that. How can I talk to her without hurting her feelings?
June
June, perhaps the essence of riding a Harley is freeing yourself from scripts of conduct and norms of behavior. We all long to be free of a closed caste system where everyone knows our place. We long to express our uncensored individual self. That is what Mary gets out of riding her Harley.
You can't tell her what you feel without hurting her feelings. But letting go of the feeling that you are responsible for another's actions will give you the feeling of freedom Mary feels as she rides her motorcycle.
Wayne & Tamara
About The Author
Authors and columnists Wayne and Tamara Mitchell can be reached at www.WayneAndTamara.com.
Send letters to: Direct Answers, PO Box 964, Springfield, MO 65801 or email: DirectAnswers@WayneAndTamara.com.
A young man in search of enlightenment had traveled to... Read More
Excerpt From The Relationship Handbook: How to Understand and Improve... Read More
I believe that it is an amazing time in our... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of August 18,... Read More
I have, in recent years, come to believe that IQ... Read More
Consider this. If it is possible to quote you as... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of October 28,... Read More
When in 1996 a local Secondary School opened, the staff... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 8,... Read More
There are reasons we cross paths with those that we... Read More
I have always rather envied those people who have a... Read More
Spend some time thinking about how good you have it.... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 29,... Read More
Soaring 700 feet above the forest floor is a granite... Read More
These days, I find the lines are blurred between school... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of August 25,... Read More
In the moment of completing a thought or action, it... Read More
This is a true story about a woman I worked... Read More
Why do so many of us end up frustrated when... Read More
A near middle-aged man in one of my last workshops... Read More
"Welcome to Canada," Ken shouted to me over the roar... Read More
I have a question for you.Who are you?This may be... Read More
Some people live in and talk about the past so... Read More
Jonathan:ˇ§This is my brother, Jonathanˇ¨. They walked into the room... Read More
As we progress into the year, it is necessary for... Read More
The massive orb dominates the aqua crystalline backdrop of its... Read More
The volatile essences of aromatic plants contain potent, complex, natural... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 22,... Read More
In old buildings there was a boiler room where men... Read More
(excerpted from Leading an Inspired Life)Pity the man who has... Read More
Are you prepared to make your heart matter? Are you... Read More
Discernment is an inner guide or compass. It is loving... Read More
Can we love our bodies? As the years go by,... Read More
As I sat down to write this article, I was... Read More
Laws of the Attraction notwithstanding, there are several external ways... Read More
Humanity seems to be the only species that never seems... Read More
This week is Part Five of our five part series... Read More
When you were a child, or maybe even when you... Read More
Goal Setting and Relationships?That is not as weird as it... Read More
You have just completed a major work project before the... Read More
Peril, catastrophe and disaster.These are our friends, allies and mentors.Appearing... Read More
Q: I was wondering if you could recommend any books... Read More
Consider this. If it is possible to quote you as... Read More
The man plopped down on his chair, defeated.His father's maxims... Read More
Over my extended Thanksgiving weekend I took some time to... Read More
This article was channelled through me by an entity called... Read More
We let ourselves love but are afraid to say I... Read More
Why do so many of us end up frustrated when... Read More
In Corrogue I am amazedI rise by the light of... Read More
Let's file this one under the heading of random musings... Read More
It goes without question that any business intending to thrive... Read More
As we've reached the half way point of the year... Read More
Two years ago I was in a wheelchair and told... Read More
Whenever we are working on our dreams we are going... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 8,... Read More
The eyes are the portals of the inner self; the... Read More
I have a standing interview every Monday morning on a... Read More
Life ?.. Indeed is full of learning's, experiences, facts and... Read More
A major part of the process of achieving success and... Read More
"If unresolved anger is a toxin to the spirit, forgiveness... Read More
Everyone wants a blue ribbon. Blue. First place. The best.... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of April 19,... Read More
The root of discord and violence between people and nations... Read More
The good part of this story is that there is... Read More
We are not born with courage, but neither are we... Read More
Practising extreme self-care in our life involves practising good "daily"... Read More
Inspirational |