Dear Eye,
Please see my personal message about your post above. The big issue in my case that at least partially covers your marriage concern as well, is:
what "mode" am I on? Giving, or getting? Nothing here to do with "good" or "bad" or even what is "nice", or "better" - just what is the truth: It really works wonders to be aware of it. The following, Rav Dessler brings out in Kuntres Hachesed, but I write it here be"H from a program perspective:
Does this make sense to you:
If I am truly
primarily concerned about what I am
giving to all the people in the world, to the people on the street that I'm walking on, to the folks in my workplace, to my family, to my wife...well, then a lot of things are gonna be OK. Like how they look, what they are giving me, how they make
me feel - "Hey! What
good am I doing for that person in the street I am staring at? I'd better daven for them - Hashem certainly has some kind of purpose and/or plan for them even if they are a goy, no? They need
something! (and it's surely not: my ogling at them!)"...
Are my kids making me feel proud or secure as a parent w/their behavior, or are they 'driving me nuts'? "Hey! What does how they make
me feel have to do w/what
I can give to
them? Better I should look at how I can be useful to them given my proclivities to anger or insecurity. Now I am getting somewhere...
Is my relationship w/my wife fulfilling, or not
so..."Hey, now, is that why
she married me? Is that the only reason I married
her? If she'd give me all the fancy stuff I desired (including the lust) would it satisfy me? What would really happen
then?" This takes some quiet real thinking time.
I am not speaking out against satisfaction in every aspect of marriage, but I need to face this fact: Am I really looking for physical satisfaction, or for something
else in
her - like being truly deeply and fully trustingly connected to another person in this short life -
with no price tag either way - just because
we are one? Yup, for me that is definitely it. And the only way to "get" that is by
giving it all away for free to her, no?" After all, do we really expect anything
less from our wives? You may be able to apply this idea to your issue and approach it from the angle of how whatever you do or choose to communicate w/your wife, etc., gives to/affects
her. If you try it let us know what happens, OK?
If this was helpful to you, fantastic!! If not, nu... It reminded me of how precious my relationships really are to me and maybe I'll smile just a bit more when I walk in the door tonight!
Love,
Dov