"Love is believing in someone." - Charles M. Schulz, in a 1979 copy of Love is… Walking Hand in Hand

Are you sick of these Peanuts quotes yet? I’ve been posting them every week but I just cannot get enough of Schulz’s brilliance at using child-like lines to reflect the complexity of adults’ lives.

Women and men are not perfect. We mess up. We don’t always show the best sides of ourselves. We lie, we betray and we disappoint. And yet we also deserve second chances. Not fifty chances, perhaps (or at least not all from the same person - that just sounds like self-abuse). But second chances… don’t you think?

There are people who I have dated who I would not give a second chance to in my own relationship, meaning that I would not date them again. However, that does not stop me from believing in them as people and that, at any moment, they can choose to be honest, trustworthy human beings. And I support them in their journey. I remain a friend. I give my heart in a way that makes sense to me meaning that I am able to balance my own boundaries and needs with my most sincere wishes for them to grow into the people that they want to be.

Then there are people who have never failed you (yet). It is so important to believe that a woman or man can live up to your high standards (and, as research suggests, it is good to have high standards in relationships! it gives you both something to live up to). Have faith in your partner and make sure that he or she has faith in you, too. It is so important to believe in others and to feel like the people you love believe in you too.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at 8:25 am and is filed under Love and relationships, Dr. Debby's Bookshelf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.