My gorgeous husband continuously surprises me with his level of openness and willingness to deepen the love in himself and in our relationship. I am forever in appreciation and awe of this and I admire that when I present more love, there is not an ounce of resistance in him to going deeper. For me, this is the confirmation of how powerful the expression of love is: it is supportive, beholding and asking us to further question, unfold and return to the greatness we are all actually from.
For the first time in this life I feel that I am in an intimate, fully committed relationship with a man where we treat each other as equals: we are each unique, we each have our own offerings and strengths in our relationship as we do have areas we each need support with.
However, together we are on the path to be all that we can be with each other, all others, and ourselves in every part of our day. This is an appreciation of him and for him, but also of myself and my deepening commitment to living and being the love that I am in full.
My gorgeous husband is tender, deeply considerate, unimposing, loving, gentle and super caring. He is a powerhouse, he has the ability to unify and gather people, to relate caringly with them and build strong relationships. He is able to see, feel, nominate, and clearly voice his feelings of how things have played out the way they have. He is able to acknowledge when he is wrong and to speak about areas he wants to place more loving attention into.
These are all qualities that I see and appreciate in him but at times he does not see in himself, or have appreciation for . . . and he is aware of this. I fully understand how this can happen and have felt the same in myself too. I totally love his honesty as he chooses to move forward with now bringing appreciation of himself; as he continues to self-care and deepen his relationship with himself, he develops an ever growing presence.
All of this has unfolded with a loving rapidity for him in the past year and I fully admire him, also appreciating the level of love that is now available for us all to connect to and choose in our way of living.
This is a dedication to the love and openness of my husband, and the unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love.
In deep appreciation of Serge Benhayon and the presentations of the Ancient Wisdom and Universal Medicine for reflecting this love to me. This consistent reflection has supported my journey that began eight years ago by reconnecting to the love that I am, to me, and to my greatness. Now we live that love in our family, at work, with our friends and in our lives.
Forever learning and unfolding . . .
By Johanna Smith, Bachelor of Education
Further Reading:
Soul
Appreciation in Relationships
How many Marriages & Relationships have been Improved?
Appreciation of the beauty of who we are inspires others to appreciate an equal beauty in themselves.
When we locate ourselves in Love, it spreads in every part of our life confirming back the origin we all come from. Then, we can appreciate that beauty in others as a reflection of ours
The more I appreciate myself quite simply the more I am able to love and appreciate my husband.
My husband is simply divine.
Johanna what you have shared is very beautiful and imagine what the world would be like if we all held each other in such a loving way. Many people scoff at this image but if we start to love ourselves and grow from there and develop relationships built on the same love then like dominoes the world can change, it is possible and it is already happening.
“This is a dedication to the love and openness of my husband, and the unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love.” You words resonate deeply within in me, also appreciating and confirming the glorious, tender beautiful amazing husband I have.
What we allow in to get in the way of appreciation is huge for it not only stops us from appreciating ourselves but it stops us from appreciating all others.
I agree Johanna, deep appreciation for Serge Benhayon and all he brings for humanity, ‘In deep appreciation of Serge Benhayon and the presentations of the Ancient Wisdom and Universal Medicine for reflecting this love to me. This consistent reflection has supported my journey that began eight years ago by reconnecting to the love that I am, to me, and to my greatness.’
The power of love magnified in appreciation of each other.
This is a gorgeous example of true appreciation for another; when we appreciate ourselves it is much easier to appreciate others.
Appreciation of ourselves and others is really important and very powerful, ‘This is an appreciation of him and for him, but also of myself and my deepening commitment to living and being the love that I am in full.’
What a beautiful and true role model your husband is for all men, and especially our young men who are growing into adulthood. There are so few role models for our boys and as a result many of them struggle through life not knowing who they truly are as societal beliefs tell them that to be a man in the world they need to bury their natural sensitivity and tenderness by hardening up. Well your gorgeous husband certainly blows those archaic belief to pieces.
I love how people can constantly surprise us with the incredible depth of what they have to offer – it’s like every person has a limitless well when it comes to the potential of who they are and what is inside them.
So true Meg and it is ever expanding when we are willing to be open to it.
Appreciating the people we love is everything – life can never be dull or mundane when we see how amazing the people around us are.
Without appreciating what is, how can we go deeper in the intimacy there is to have in our relationships?
Beautiful what you have shared Johanna, thank you “This is a dedication to the love and openness of my husband, and the unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love.” My appreciation for my husband is deepening more and more, also my appreciation for my Soul in revealing to me the root causes of some of my unloving behaviours so that healing can take place and the love that I can evolve to take its place.
I think our world sorely lacks real appreciation for each other and our amazing qualities. Yet it’s an abundant source – once you begin to appreciate you find there’s a never-ending well or a tap that you can never turn off.
Totally gorgeous offering of love Johanna. When we see and appreciate all another is, we offer an incredible foundation for them to always fall back on and remember who they are.
While I am not married, I have many men in my life who deeply enrich my life with their quality of love, tenderness, care and openess. It is beautiful to have men who are able to open up, express and share themselves with others.
When someone holds us in deep appreciation of all we are, it allows us to come back to this when we have lost our way or let doubt in.
Appreciation is the foundation for all relationships.
I love this ‘love letter’ that you have written about your husband. It had me smiling with every part of me at the honesty and the joy you have shared. It is the appreciation of him that is so tangible and I am sure that has come from you appreciating you and the wonderful woman that you are. The reflections that we get from those closest to us are price-less.
We can often see in others qualities that they cannot see or feel within themselves. Then it is simply reflecting this back to them, like an offering, with no attachment.
The greatest loving act we can offer one another through our relationships is that of evolution, as it is through our evolving that we can deepen and return to the greater connection to love for ourselves and together, that which we are all from as such be who we truly are.
Deepening our relationship with those who we are closest to, is such a great way to develop and deepen all our relationships.
Beautifully said Greg and so true. This highlights how possible it is for us all to return to live sharing harmonious and loving relationships, and at one humanity.
Sometimes as crazy as it seems I have a hard time accepting how much my husband loves me, its like I can’t fully accept it and let it in, though as I deepen in the love and acceptance I have for myself so to can I allow more of this glorious love in. This continues to unfold but forever I am blown away by this beautiful, handsome wise man and how he is in life. Always Super inspired.
Johanna, I love how deeply you are appreciating yourself and reflecting that this is the foundation to fully appreciate another.
There is a lot to appreciate Johanna with the love you share with your husband – amazing that you keep on deepening the love and he does not resist – this shows the love and understanding you hold him in.
I have come to know (in my body) how vitally responsible it is to appreciate all that there is to appreciate. It is key to building a foundation that is rock solid.
What you have shared is one of the golden keys of any relationship. Appreciation is super important to allowing the relationship to deepen as is often overlooked in its grand importance.
Very sweet Johanna. How often do we let ourselves admire in every last detail the awesome things our partners do? How common is it for us to caress and care for them as if we are both the most delicate thing? And how usual is it for us to express fully the Love we feel without feeling scared or fearful that they might leave? It’s crazy how we avoid the beauty we have all got – thank You Johanna for sharing yours here.
So beautiful that you have this continuing unfolding relationship and that your expression of it brings love and a blessing to all of us.
It’s easy to focus on what’s not right, on the situations that didn’t work. But we might find if we first appreciated the people in our lives for their beauty, warmth and care that is totally there, our relationships would change and when we discussed an issue or difficulty it would unfold smoothly. What if the difficulties we experience in this world are not because we are ‘bad’ but simply because we have forgotten to appreciate? Thank you Johanna for sharing this – it is great.
Thank you Johanna for a beautiful celebration of the deepening love you and your husband are sharing between you. In my own relationship I am finding every day something more about my beautiful husband to appreciate, I realise this had to do with opening up to my own love and appreciation for me just being me.
Such a deep appreciation of another and expression of love, comes first from one’s self-love, self-appreciation and a commitment make life about this. Stunning sharing.
Expressing our appreciation offers an opportunity to appreciate all there is to appreciate in a relationship.
Appreciation … as always an amazing foundation for love.
Gorgeous blog to read thank you Johanna for sharing your appreciation of your husband and your relationship. The qualities you expressed about him are so very similar in my own marriage, we have been called by our souls to step up and open up to the more that is on offer and ever unfolding, I appreciate that we are accepting this gift of deepening our love.
When we are open and honest in our expression of our appreciation for everyone we are in a relationship with, all our relationships as a whole cannot but grow and flourish.
I loved re reading your sharing Johanna. What a beautiful working relationship you both have and are developing !
Thank you Johanna for sharing , its so wonderfull to hear this story about a man.
Appreciation is so important in relationships, what is so very sensible in this blog is the beautiful warmth and holding appreciation brings to an relationship. It is easy to just run off and get caught up in the normal and taking my partner for granted. We fell in love with our partners and really enjoyed being with them so why would we allow the mundane to kick in and treat our partners less than what they deserve? Appreciation is something my partner and I work on often at the dinner table talking about what we appreciate about each other, this brings back the love and feeling of adoration for each other and ourselves.
A gorgeous account of the deep appreciation Johanna has for her husband which is inspiring me to make changes and express my appreciation towards my husband which I have known for sometime I have been resisting and holding back. There are never any excuses to not appreciate another or ourselves as we all have so much to offer and appreciate.
I love what you have so beautifully shared here in appreciation of your husband Johanna and it also speaks volumes of the beholding quality you both have for each other and how that confirms and supports each of you to support and grow together. Stunning thank you.
Reading this has reminded me the utter importance in appreciating one and other, with out appreciation there is no where to go.
Appreciation is absolutely vital for a relationship to flower and evolve…. Looks like we have a tropical garden here ….:-)
There are some really beautiful and brilliant qualities to all of us if we stop to appreciate. Reading this has reminded me how much light and joy appreciation brings to life and to our relationships which when love is added into the mix makes everything far more amazing than I could ever imagine in previous relationships.
It is really beautiful to read your appreciation of your husband, it has inspired me to do the same for my husband and daughter. There is so much to appreciate and so much to deepen.
“This is an appreciation of him and for him, but also of myself and my deepening commitment to living and being the love that I am in full.” Appreciating another is beautiful, but appreciating ourselves is all-important too.
It is so refreshing Johanna to have someone talk about their appreciation for their husbands as it has become unfashionable to actually express how great someone is and the qualities they bring. Quite often we may think these things but rarely actually voice them.
“My gorgeous husband continuously surprises me with his level of openness and willingness to deepen the love in himself and in our relationship.” I can really say that my partner is also someone to deeply appreciate. I am continuously surprised by his willingness to own his stuff, and to always want to grow and evolve. I appreciate these qualities in him immensely.
Gorgeous to read Johanna, of the depth of love and appreciation you have with your husband and yourself, ever opening to the Souls enfolding and unfolding love, thank you.
Thank you, Johanna – exactly that. What we live is what we bring and when we live from a love, that is bound in oneself, it automatically shines and reflects on the outside. An evolutionary road that is real, honest, open, loving and truthful. At the same time harmonising in many many ways.
Appreciation in a relationship really is the key. Without appreciation we leave much uncommunicated and this then leaves the space for issues to come in and we can start to focus on the what is not which doesn’t support us.
Johanna, it is very lovely to read about how a true relationship can be, your husband’s openness and honesty and both of your willingness to work on what isn’t loving and true and to both evolve and be of the love that you are is absolutely gorgeous, you are true role models, thank you for sharing this.
“For the first time in this life I feel that I am in an intimate, fully committed relationship with a man where we treat each other as equals: we are each unique, we each have our own offerings and strengths in our relationship as we do have areas we each need support with.” Beautiful to read your tribute on this day February 14.
How gorgeous to be able to so easily express so much love and appreciation of your husband. A rare and exceptionally pleasant topic to read about.
It is very inspiring to read how you so simply and openly express your appreciation for your husband. I am married for 26 years with my husband Nico and our love is deepening everyday as is our appreciation for each other. It is if I see him every time with fresh eyes and what an opportunity our relationship is to evolve together and choose more love in our lives.
It is beautiful to acknowledge the changes made towards love in any relationship and even more beautiful when we appreciate those changes. I am beginning to see more clearly the relationship I have with my husband evolving, the subtle changes taking place and the beauty of honesty and trust within the relationship… changes that can go easily unnoticed if we are not prepared to pause, reflect and appreciate.
Thank you Johanna, voicing our appreciation is so simple and yet we do not do it anywhere near enough. It’s that extra something that has us all flourishing and feeling our togetherness.
Appreciation is free and the more appreciation we have for each other the more it grows. A great investment.
Johanna what an incredible article showing the depth of appreciation you have. This raises one key thing for me. how is it that others can see and appreciate us yet we choose not to hold that same love and appreciation for ourselves. What are we all missing out on in life, and how much more amazingness is there ready to come out should we allow ourselves to really go there and live the appreciation of ourselves?
Thank you MA. I have now been married to my husband for 3 years this November and everyday I grow in appreciation for him. When we look at the amazing unity we have come to together over the last 3 years including dealing with the unresolved things from our pasts – we are totally amazed at how much can unfold and grow when love and truth are chosen together.
Appreciation is such a powerful key to building the never-ending Love we are, as it is confirms who and all we truly are in essence. When we express our appreciation with each other, as you so deeply beautifully have, we connect, confirm and magnify our union with each other through being moved by the Love of our Soul.
I love the way you express so freely your love and appreciation for your husband Johanna – it is beautiful and inspiring to read thank you.
Thank you Anna. How different would our world be if we chose to express the appreciations and confirmations first and foremost over the complaints and judgements. Love and relationships take work and starting with the truth and love first, I find is always the best way to go.
What a beautiful thing to read, appreciation is the way forward for everyone.
Johanna, so beautiful to read about your appreciation for your husband, as well as the joy you hold in life together. It is this joy that spills out to all equally so. Thank you!
Thank you Henrietta. He is very adorable so truly it’s easy to see his beauty. We do work lovingly hard each day to go deeper, truly meet each other, share our confirmations and appreciations and simply talk openly to each other like very honest best friends who don’t let anything slide. It feels so respectful and it’s very evolving. What we develop with each other and seeing ourself as a union then asks us to bring that same way and love to all our relationships. Divinely designed.
Treating one another with equality and appreciation gives us an opportunity to take our relationships to much deeper levels, being open and honest and not having expectations of one another leaves the door open to deepening our connections.
Absolutely Sally. I am finding that the more I give credit to the fact that we all know and are aware the more I feel the equalness between people. And this greatly applies in my relationship because we are left with appreciating that we each in fact have very unique qualities that we bring and support our relationship. And for me this opening and deepening allows for even more trust which feels amazing.
I learn so much from what people share about their relationships and all that they are learning in relationship with others.
The beauty is that every relationship is different and may have different flavours. From listening to them all we end up having a pretty amazing understanding of how love can play.
Yes this is a sad fact Willem. We renter relationships seeing and feeling all we love about a person but people tend to not work on developing their relationship with self or with their partner and it soon becomes about what their partner can and can not do for them rather than the full appreciation of the gorgeousness they feel in love with with their partner.
Thank you Willem. Yes it is very simple but this just goes to show how much we firstly complicate life, the relationship with ourselves and the dynamics we bring to the relationships with others in general. I have had a few relationships and not felt what I do today. This is simply because of the healing, self care, layers I have let go of and relationship I developed with myself before I entered this one. . . And of course both my husband and I have a willingness to make our relationship one of truth not comfort or arrangement. We truly want to develop and deepen our true support.
Having recently got married to an amazing beautiful tender man I am blown away by his love, his expression and our growing evolving love. Appreciating all my relationships whether at work, with family or people is a sure fire way of confirming what is true in this world. When we are surrounded by such falsity as in everyday life, true relationships are key to keeping us on track and reminding us of who we really are.
Absolutely Samantha. I have found that the true relationships that we have are a springboard to supporting all of our relationships. For example I know the depth, trust, communication, surrender, transparency, expression and honesty etc that I have worked on deepening with my husband are actually qualities and depths that I then take to all relationships, including those people I just meet. Of course this first stems from the depth I am willing to have with myself – and others feel this.
Thank you Johanna – it is wonderful to see people in partnership express appreciation for each other. Your relationship is very inspiring.
Thank you Leonne. We are continually and actively working with this daily at the moment and there is an even greater depth and trust that is there now in our relationship which speaks volumes for the act of confirming and appreciating ourselves and others.
What a beautiful celebration of your relationship Johanna. Truly inspiring and a testament to both of your commitment to love.
Thank you Vicky. We continue to celebrate it daily even if it’s something small – it is all important and worth acknowledging and celebrating for the truth it is.
Appreciation is key to relationships, without appreciation of self there can be no appreciation of others and without appreciation of others there is not glue to hold relationships together.
Bringing in appreciation in all of our relationships works miracles. I can see for myself how I have not appreciated my partners enough in the past and I have really learned from that. Now I do appreciate, every single day, and it is an absolute joy.
I agree and see this too Mariette. I was in relationships in the past from a place of need not from a place of being confirmed in the love I am and appreciating the love we share.
What a beautiful sharing about love and appreciation.! Thank you Johanna
Yes Ariana, I agree what a winning combination, when we appreciate the relationships we have we naturally go deeper. Celebrating our love for one another is a must if we want to evolve.
I just love this it is so great to feel the love and appreciation you have for your husband, it is so very refreshing to hear someone express such love, to often we can focus on the negative untrue things you are turning this around and at the same time giving everyone a blessing! Thank you!
It was really at one point in life past relationships to see the negative especially when my undealt with hurts were triggered. However now that I have worked with clearing hurts and also deepening my love and self appreciation it is very easy to see all I love and appreciate in others, especially my husband. And of course because he is totally lovely – it’s easy.
Johanna the way you and your husband continually deepen your relationship is super inspiring. You lead the way and he joyfully follows, and this feels so natural. Too often I hear (and I have been there myself) women complaining about their partner. This blog shows how we can inspire each other to ever deepen our relationships.
This is such a beautiful blog of appreciation, all that we are is reflected in what you present. The love we can build and the grand effect it has on every relationship we enter.
Yes Benkt and what I m realising every day more and more is that it is just a choice we can choose to appreciate someone and all they bring or we can choose to nit pick what is wrong with them or what does not match up to our expectations. Ultimately we are choosing love or not.
What really stands out for me is the absolute appreciation that comes with this blog.
I don’t feel this is done enough in relationships, but to do so, to truly appreciate another for all they are, without need or expectation, is to absolutely hold them in love.
Wow what a gift we have in any relationship.
To appreciate is to allow someone to naturally go deeper – because they are confirmed in where they are, so how could they not be more.
I agree Hannah. Not only in couple relationships, but even in friendships, there is a great deal more appreciation that is needed.
Yes. This is important to do everywhere and with everyone. People desperately need to be confirmed for who they are in truth.
“To appreciate is to allow someone to naturally go deeper ” awesome observation Hannah, so very true it really is the greatest gift to just allow someone to be who they are, it will always go messy if we impose or put our expectations onto someone.
And this team strengthens everyday because we have a willingness to deepen and evolve together. This for me is the magic of God in relationships.
You are so lucky Johanna to have such a beautiful, loving relationship with your husband.
Although we all know that this has nothing to do with luck, it is due to your commitment to love, truth and openness – and your loving relationship with yourself first. Thank you for sharing your inspirational story with all of us.
This is a beautiful sharing, Johanna and I really feel it is a celebration of love. It’s incredible that for most of our lives we wonder through, not truly knowing what love is and for some of us realising that the love we do know isn’t true! I feel it is a shame that most of us do not realise that the love we seek from others is actually inside us. It is there and has been there all the time! Thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, I too am learning to reconnect to that love and bring it out in all that I say and do. It’s still quite early days for me, but when it happens it feels amazing. Just to have a joke with a stranger at the train station fills my body with such a warm glow, I cannot help but appreciate it.
I am sure if there was this kind of communication and appreciation taught to couples before they intend to get married there would be much less divorces. There probably would be less marriages too, because it would expose the couples that don’t do this and are not willing to learn.
You have a great point there Jinya. How many couples get married to hide in a relationship, or to fill their loneliness (even though they may not realise this at the time), and having to look at their communication and appreciation issues may be a little too exposing for some.
So true Sandra and Jinya, I know sometimes I feel challenged in my relationships when asked to go deeper. When we feel challenged we then have a choice we can react and go into resistance or comfort not choosing to evolve or we can feel a wee bit uncomfortable and go deeper into our own love and our love with others.
‘For me, this is the confirmation of how powerful the expression of love is: it is supportive, beholding and asking us to further question, unfold and return to the greatness we are all actually from.’ This is so beautiful and a great reminder of how that reflection and expression of love changes lives, and how it’s our responsibility to everyone to hold that love for them to also have the inspiration to return to when they are ready.
I love the simplicity of this blog – the deep and pure appreciation, and a love that is not smothering but simply holding. With no need or expectations from each other.
That just feels so true and ultimately what we all know to be love.
To truly appreciate those we love is something we don’t do often enough, yet it is so confirming. If we can appreciate where someone is at, they can only go deeper, love more, open up more.
Appreciation is so confirming and as I bring it into my relationships, I really see the amazing difference and depth of love that is almost never ending.
Beautiful sharing about the truth of a person living who they truly are, bringing honesty, willingness and openness to all others. Although in you share a very special union what you have described here Johanna is about true service, equality and consistency. Thank you for celebrating your love with us all.
“For the first time in this life I feel that I am in an intimate, fully committed relationship with a man where we treat each other as equals: we are each unique, we each have our own offerings and strengths in our relationship as we do have areas we each need support with.” Thank you for sharing this with the world by writing this blog. I agree it is truly beautiful and possible to be in a fully committed relationship based on love and that feels completely equal.
This was beautiful to read Johanna. A hint to appreciate those in our life and what they bring. Also what we all bring – a chance to deepen love.
What a beautiful appreciation of your husband Johanna and a joy to read . To get to this loving place is worth celebrating and the expansion from here can only flow and grow with you together. The gift Serge Benhayon is offering us by his inspiration for true relationships is simply gorgeous and so loving and tender brings understanding to relationships and showing us how they can truly be if we choose to make loving choices and work on our stuff. A great sharing thank you
Lately I have been seeing how we compete with each other, in almost everything. This produces and feeling of a struggle and a fight, am I better than you, or are you my superior? Who is in the driving seat? I can see now how this approach has been carried into every relationship I have had. So what you share here Johanna is actually massive. We can as men, as women, truly connect to each other, appreciate our essence and make competition a dying sport.
I love that Joseph “make competition a dying sport” it works on so many levels.
Reading your words Johanna, I can feel how you hold your husband as truly precious, independent of his choices, or actions that day. When we see past the roles we play to appreciate our essence its like we are given permission to open up in a big way. What a difference to the continual striving to be the ‘perfect partner’, so many of us think we have to live up to.
A blog full of appreciation. How gorgeous, and how important. We often do not stop to appreciate the people in our lives. To dedicate a blog to someone feels so honouring and full of love.
Beautifully expressed Johanna, couples like you guys are too few and far between you are an inspiration to us all as we all have to be careful in relationships that we are not holding each other back or only giving or receiving a measured amount of love. Appreciation for self and each other is the key for growth.
To be able to express how we feel about another is HUGE and is very healing for both parties; something we don’t do enough. It’s great that you are supporting, loving and encouraging your husband, rather than bringing him down.
Reading your blog Johanna has allowed me to pause and appreciate my relationship with my partner, all that he brings to our relationship and the beautiful and constant reflection I get from being in a loving relationship.
“For me, this is the confirmation of how powerful the expression of love is: it is supportive, beholding and asking us to further question, unfold and return to the greatness we are all actually from.” Beautiful said Johanna.
Johanna, I have found that having a commitment to always being more love in our relationship is a beautiful way to heal any disharmony and to continually move froward in our commitment to each other and what we are bringing to others.
I love this Anne ‘A commitment to always being more love.’ With this kind of understanding how can we do anything but expand and evolve?
There was a men’s group led by Michael Benhayon and Otto Bathurst recently that was open to women. Feeling and listening to the men speaking it was clear that there is no difference between us at all. It was so refreshing to feel this equalness. It is us that put things in the way to our clear communication and expressing ourselves in full. I felt such appreciation of both men and women in this short meeting. Appreciation for us to express the joy in living in the bodies that we have chosen, enjoying everything there is in being a man and equally everything there is in being a woman.
Re-reading your blog Johanna, reminds me to appreciate and allow time and space for my relationships to grow. To let go of expectations and lovingly reassess what I would like to bring into my relationships.
Beautifully expressed Chan.
I love how developing appreciation for ourselves helps us to appreciate others. To appreciate the natural tenderness that is in all men is beautiful and reminds me to be tender too.
I agree Carmel, we are all naturally tender and beautiful. By appreciating ourselves we can expand our appreciation to others too.
Johanna, you have made love the foundation of your life. This means everything must be about love first; appreciating this love reinforces an already solid foundation.
It is so important what you share here Johanna, as there is no other option than to love – equally in every relationship – if you are up for true good. Since I know Serge Benhayon, and Universal Medicine has been in my life, I know that I deep down missed love enormously, even though I looked at the wrong places (except within). I am now realizing that I have more ways built (created) to offset myself, my love than anything else, shame. But.. Nevertheless what I am now learning by Universal Medicine is that I am now offered the opportunity, just like everybody else, to discard these old abusive ways (creation) and come back to the love I am. I have to say it might be bumpy at times, but the absolute solid feeling of letting hurtful (hurts) and abuse (self-abusive ways) go and out of my body – is the best gift I have ever given myself. Thank you Universal Medicine. Thank you Johanna.
Wow Danna, you have covered everything, from how to get from A to B to back to Love… You are absolutely right there is NO other option but Love, what else is there, we come from love and we will return to love. We may wobble along the way but through the teachings of Universal Medicine and the loving support of Serge Benhayon we have no more excuses but to take full responsibility, stop creating a loveless world and come back to the Love that we are. I have missed love too but now we know where true love resides we can stop the ceaseless search for it on the outside and empower ourselves by connecting to it on the inside.
The tenderness presented here is deeply felt inspiring us that we have a choice to have this too in all our relationships and all we have to do is ask ourselves why, knowing we have created it to avoid the responsibility of having truly loving, intimate and deeply caring relationships. What an inspiring blog – thank you Johanna.
I agree Caroline. I just love the level of tenderness that Johanna writes about her husband. It reminds me to hold everyone in my life with that level of tenderness as well.
Great points Caroline and Elizabeth, I can feel why I have held back from expressing my love to others is because of my own hurts or wanting the other to appreciate me first to feel safe to express my love – something I am learning to let go of in my life. The biggest key for me has been to deepen the appreciation and love for myself which has allowed me to feel this and celebrate it in others without needing anything in return.
It amazes me what we create in our relationships to avoid the responsibility of having true intimacy with another whether that is with a partner or friend and the lengths we will go to, to avoid this.
Yes Caroline, how crazy is it when true intimacy is what we long for most in our relationships. How wonderful to read Joanna’s sharing here along with the gorgeous comments, proving that when we do open up in relationships whatever their nature, be it partner or friend, there is the opportunity for so much more.
Your writing is truly i spiring me to appreciate my partner more and how we are together in the relationship. I melted when I read your blog. What an effect it will have on relationships, if we were just to express our love and appreciation to all our intimate relationships.
“How powerful the expression of love is”. To share this with another is so beautiful and what is reflected back is pure joy.
The words capture something really big. It is amazingly beautiful when someone refers to his/her partner in a way that holds him/her in fond love and deeply honour him/her. Thank you for sharing this ove with the world.
Johanna this is a hardness melter for sure, great to re-read and feel the deep honouring of yourself and your husband equally. I love the fact you mention how your husband does not always appreciate himself but is aware of that. I know that for myself too and would add that perhaps if anything needs to take time, it is our deepening acceptance of how awesome we are.
Oh yes, please do take the time Simon, to deepen your acceptance, you are absolutely worth it and we would dearly welcome your great love. It is felt here.
Thank you Joanna for sharing your appreciation for your loving husband. I have realised that I have never been in a truly intimate relationship with a man, so I greatly appreciate other people’s stories of what this is like.
Your blog is a beautiful reminder for me to appreciate more deeply the relationships in my life and to express this to others – I am sure there would be less marriage break-ups if we simply expressed our love and appreciation daily.
True Anna, also less depression and mental illness. Lack of expression and appreciation is responsible for the beginning of all our illness and disease, this is the key missing fact that the medical profession is currently lacking.
I find this a gorgeous testament to love when it is expressed through truth, equality, gentleness and tenderness not just within the relationship but also to oneself and shared with everyone
So true Jonathon, learning to love ourselves is an important and vital step in the foundation of a relationship with self or anyone else. This is so foreign to most men and women so a few ideals require knocking down before it begins or it is simply that we have never been told about this.
Men can find it hard to accept and express appreciation, so I am sure that by sharing your appreciation of him, he also learns to appreciate himself and others also.
Through Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I am starting to feel and see the importance of celebrating, appreciating and recognising the values of both ourselves and others. This enables us to take our relationships to a deeper and constantly expanding level. This is really gorgeous and has helped me to see how in the past I would not do this but in fact see and feel ‘negative’ things instead. It completely flips this in the body and enables us to appreciate when we stop to feel the true values ourselves and others bring. It is lovely what you have shared about your husband and I can feel the potential of your relationship expanding, evolving and being more and more amazing in every moment.
Johanna, this is pure inspiration to have a look at my partner and others. It is coming from an appreciating point of view instead of looking at the “what is not”. Thank you for your expression*
Very true Christina, most relationships commence with the purpose of ‘what can you give to me?’, ‘how will you complete me?’, and ‘how will you take care of me?’. What a pressure and imposition to start a relationship with. Yet, as has been shared here, how truly beautiful for a marriage in true union to commence with the purpose of evolution, inspiring and supporting each other to be more, to be all that you are for yourself so that you are all that for another. Deeply healing and showing the world there is another way.
So true Laura, the pressure and impositions we put on our partners will bring any relationship undone, unless of course these are addressed and cleared in which case there is room for more love.
Learning to appreciate ourselves and others is key to developing relationships that are evolving us rather than relationships that keep us stuck.
This blog inspired me to feel more into the truer meaning of the word ‘marriage’.
Up until this point when I thought of marriage it conjured up quite a mixed bag of feelings. The one most prominent was like a weight on my shoulders, a heaviness, a duty, a sense of someone having control over me and for me to have control over them, companionship, neediness. But I feel that what you have conveyed here has helped me see it in a whole new light. I now understand marriage to be a simple choice to form a loving union with another to walk life together, in equality. Beautiful, I am inspired.
This short blog is so refreshing to read. How many stories of people sharing their appreciation of their marriage partner do we get to read. Usually any stories we hear are about separation, divorce, fighting etc…To me what you have conveyed here is what marriage is about…. equality.
Yes, very true Michelle and just another example of how Universal Medicine is reversing the trends and showing yet again, there is indeed another way.
This is such a beautiful blog to re-visit and be inspired by the level of appreciation and love you both share with each other – just gorgeous thank you.
This is an awesome blog that should be shared out to many. You and your husband need to be out in the world on tv etc…expressing how you both live….forever deepening relationship that is possible for everyone… if they choose.
Agreed Jody, the many couples living true love and relationship need to be seen by the world and they are; never under estimate how much people see. Whether you are in a super market, at a school function or even in your own homes, people see and feel it and there is nothing more healing or inspiring than to know true loving relationships are possible.
Being wholeheartedly appreciated brings such a huge healing for the one being appreciated and the one appreciating.
Agreed Jinya there is nothing more healing than expressing our love and appreciation for another. Holding back this love and appreciation is the beginnings of illness and disease. We are made to express not to suppress.
YES… Express not Suppress.
One expands us and the other contracts.
You can feel how one opens us and the other shuts us down developing heaviness and blockages.
Absolutely Jinya I really appreciate your expression! Appreciation is so very lacking in our society yet at our very core it is as normal as breathing.
Thank you Johanna for this beautiful, open love letter, which is in itself a reflection of the love reflected by Serge Benhayon and the presentations of the Ancient Wisdom and Universal Medicine.
Hear Hear Jonathon. Yet another amazing testimonial of the incredible and inspiring works of Serge Benhayon.
What a beautiful blog Joanna, with so much love and appreciation oozing out to be shared for all. This is an amazing declaration for another and the true feeling of love that has come from a dedication to truly working with your souls together each on your own journey of love for yourselves first. This is very inspiring and available for us all with the simplicity you share so lovingly thank you.
It is so beautiful to read of your forever blossoming love and how the unfoldment is now also with your husband, family and friends Johanna.
A husband and wife relationship in what you have shared Johanna feels solid. A man and woman in their own built solidity in love having the support of each other to consistently deepen this love, this is what a marriage is about. We have to share much more truth about what true love and true marriages are, as divorce rates are sky-rocketing the world, and the impact it has on families and children are devastating.
Beautifully written Adele, ‘A man and woman in their own built solidity in love having the support of each other to consistently deepen this love, this is what a marriage is about’, this feels like a true marriage, i can feel that it is very common in society that relationships are not worked on, when issues come up there can be blame rather than lovingly supporting each to other to look at the issues and work on these.
It is unfortunate that we grow up believing in fairy tales and happily ever afters, this belief leads to great disappointment, making us feel that we have done something wrong to not end up with the happily ever after. Yet the key we never get taught, until Serge Benhayon, is that for a relationship to work it needs, respect, honesty and Appreciation.
Johanna, what a beautiful and heartfelt expression of love for your husband which permeates your whole blog. Appreciation of another is such a beautiful gift which I also feel for my gorgeous husband. I spent many years with loads of expectations which were so destructive to our relationship and to now feel the evolution of our relationship through love and appreciation is a pretty amazing thing!
It is so rare to hear partners peak about each other with love and tenderness that has been expressed to be honesty it threw me a little but loved it, we so need to express our appreciation of all relationships
This blog reminds us there is so much to appreciate about our self and each other, imagine if we put the same amount of energy into this that we do in criticizing and judging our self and others?
Thanks, Mary-Louise, for your comment … henceforth I’m switching my energy from self-judgement as soon as I become aware of it, to self-appreciation, self-loving, self-caring, yummo. I’ll be consistently clearing those old automatic self-harm programs step by step.
What a world it would be Mary-Louise. The flow on effect would be life changing for everyone. Our entire well-being both physically and mentally would show significant improvement.
Johanna, I love how you so openly and lovingly express your deep appreciation and love for your husband. As we go about our daily lives many of us forget how important it is to express this to each other, your blog is a great reminder.
Yes we can live and work and spend so much time with people and yet not fully appreciate each other. How rich life would be if the world began to truly appreciate the blessings we have before us each and every day.
Very True Mary Louise, it can be so easy to take advantage of our loved ones, often sharing little if any appreciation. What Johanna beautifully shows us here is that you can never have enough appreciation. Through appreciation we inspire and through lack of appreciation we create hurts and barriers. So simple yet it can be so difficult, crazy that we grow up holding back our appreciation when it is one of the most natural things we do.
The more I allow appreciation into my life and allow myself to express this…..(something that was quite alien to me not that long ago ) the more I am able to see that we are all equal, and how much more enjoyable life is not having to continually feel more than or less than the person I am with.
This is lovely Johanna, what a wonderful gift to each other you both are. To have someone in your life you are sharing your learning and journey with must be so satisfying and supportive. Thank you for sharing your journey with us also.
I agree Johanna to open up and allow ourselves to feel the equality with our husbands/partner is an experience so beautiful and healing to feel. And it is only possible once we focus on love and appreciating ourselves and others.
Exactly Janina, once we focus on love and appreciation for ourselves and others we will start to see how wonderful our partners and everyone else truly are, because we then start to not make it about the things we would like to be different, but about all the wonders that are there. This appreciation will lead to a constantly deepening opening up through the basis of trust it creates and allow us to support each other in healing what did hurt us in the past and in letting go of old patterns that just do not fit anymore.
It’s wonderful to read the care that is displayed in such an observation: “These are all qualities that I see and appreciate in him but at times he does not see in himself, or have appreciation for . . . and he is aware of this.”
Oh, the power of appreciation. The world needs to know more about it and it’s evolving and healing qualities – thank you for sharing this absolute blessing for the world to start to understand Johanna.
I just expanded in my love as I read this Johanna. The simplicity of appreciation you share is so powerful. In appreciating your husband you have taken your relationship with each other and for yourselves to a deeper level of commitment to love. It is an inspiration to read. The tenderness and deep love is palpable in you both and your relationship.
What you share with your husband Johanna is truly lovely and very inspiring. You show that it’s all about working together from a place of equality and a true commitment to your relationship with your husband and yourself, which then benefits everyone.
I agree it is both lovely and inspiring what Johanna shares in this blog, and really reminds me how important appreciation for myself and other people is.
You know what I really love about this blog….is that you so openly share your love and appreciation for you husband with the world. So many women are great in complaining about their partners, looking at what is not good, what should be different and how we want to change them. This is such an inspiration and so needed, so a big thank you and lets keep appreciation all the men in our lives.
So true Mariette – that is exactly what stands out. So many usually complain about their husbands and to read this exquisite appreciation changes my whole view on relationships and how our society could look and feel. So tender and loving. I can feel how a world filled with more love and appreciation could be.
I agree Mariette I was one of the woman “looking at what is not good” and criticizing my partner for a long time. It is an result of not living what we know is true and holding on to our hurts instead of choosing the love we could live with our partner. And than getting frustrated about it and letting it out in that way. And if you criticize your partner you avoid intimacy because he feels rejected and withdraws. So perfect set up to not live love. Ouch!
So back to appreciate our beautiful men!!!
Yes Mariette, that is so true it is so common for partners to complain about their relationship, forgetting everything that is there to truly appreciate. And how we conveniently leave out the bit where we need to look at our own part in the situation. When we focus on appreciating our self and our partners, the obstacles on the way would just be minor things to look at and deal with.
Here here Mariette. Appreciation is so powerful. It is the glue in relationships.
Very True Mariette, it is unfortunately not the norm to appreciate the loved ones in our lives, it is more that we find fault and look for ways for them to change. What Johanna has beautifully shown us is through appreciation we bring out the best of another and not through criticism and judgement.
I appreciate the power of appreciation 🙂
Thank you Johanna for this beautiful reminder of how appreciating another person for all that he or she brings really opens us up to feel the love we have for each other in any relationship.
A living example that appreciation and love lived brings such vitality and joy. The light dims and the very day becomes flat and dull, just existence, when there is no appreciation or celebration of each other and life.
We don’t nearly appreciate each other enough, and it is certainly not the norm to express it out loud. Yet it is so beautiful to read a whole blog about celebrating another, and with such tenderness. And this part moved me with the example it provides for love and understanding. “These are all qualities that I see and appreciate in him but at times he does not see in himself, or have appreciation for . . . and he is aware of this. I fully understand how this can happen and have felt the same in myself too.” What a gorgeous loving support to provide for one another.
Love has a magnetic pull of its own and your blog defines how it works superbly. Appreciation, honesty, acceptance and understanding pave the way for love to ever deepen.
Something to appreciate “My gorgeous husband continuously surprises me with his level of openness and willingness to deepen the love in himself and in our relationship.” A willingness to be open, to deepen our connection and expression of love is something that develops relationships, it is such a wonderful support and blessing to have this in a relationship, be it a husband, wife, family member or friend.
This is so true Samantha and thank you for reminding me that this is something to be treasured in all relationships around us and that it doesn’t have to just be with a partner.
This is a gorgeous blog Johanna thank you for sharing your appreciation for your husband. The way your relationship is blossoming and the joy you are living is palpable.
Thank you Rob. Yes I feel this strongly and literally look at him everyday and appreciate all of who he is and the depth we continue to have together. Forever deepening the love we both are naturally so.
Being in an relationship (whether with a partner, family member or friend) where there is true equality is deeply healing. Someone can hold us as equal however we may not allow ourselves to be equal and so we can’t bring who we are to the relationship.
This is so true. It is up to both parties to put in the work. Appreciating oneself and another come hand in hand. There cannot be one without the other.
Your relationship is a blessing for all of us Johanna. Truly beautiful and inspiring. Thank you for sharing your ever growing and evolving love.
Yes Lisa, Johanna’s relationship is an inspiration and blessing for the world. I shall take this into my relationship with my husband and myself.
A beautiful testimony to love Johanna! It is so refreshing to hear partners talk of each other this way… if we approached all our relationships like this, the world would become a very different place. Thank you for the inspiration as you show how simple it is to do.
What a joy to read your blog Johanna – I feel expanded by the fullness and graciousness of all that you have expressed about your amazing relationship with your husband. It is inspiring to read such confirmation of how a relationship can really work when both people are open to love and understanding. It is so beautiful when you say in your opening words that ‘I am forever in appreciation and awe of this and I admire that when I present more love, there is not an ounce of resistance in him to going deeper’ – these words confirm to the world that there are no boundaries to the amount of love that we can experience in our lives, if we are willing to express fully the true depth of our own feelings.
This is a true love letter, full of love, appreciation and respect for another and exactly where they are at. Beautiful Johanna.
What a beautiful celebration of you and your husband Jo – truly gorgeous. And thanks for sharing it so we can all appreciate and celebrate too, as joy and love literally leaps off the page!
Johanna I read the title again this morning ‘My gorgeous husband-a man to appreciate’ and was hit by the reality of the majority of relationships. Once over the initial intense flutter many relationships slip into a mutual repetition of behaviours, habits and sayings. Most of those repetitive ways of being in a relationship are negative. Criticism, nagging, berating, lieng, cheating, loathing, hating, blaming and resenting. I know that what I have shared sounds harsh but we need to be honest about where we are at in order to be able to address what needs to be addressed.
Accepting, appreciating and expanding the love we hold for ourselves, which then flows out to others, is a very inspiring experience. I am often in awe with what unfolds as I expand my relation ship with myself. Thank you Johanna for sharing just how powerful a commitment to love, in all its guises, can be in relationships.
How beautiful to read your appreciation towards your husband- because I can feel you are appreciating yourself the same way. Not in a perfection, but the depth of the appreciation will grow everytime you visit it.
What I love also Johanna is that you are openly declaring your love for and celebrating your husband. To be this open in our expression of love is often not so easy if done with real love and not drama or heaps of emotion that comes form our neediness. The fragility and willingness to let all of us be seen by another is huge if we have not yet fully learned to be safe within the love that we are. Your blog and others like it will inspire many to take a next step in their expression of love.
I agree Carolien. This is a true declaration of love and not one that is full of romantic ideals and neediness.
It is not so easy for most of us to open up and connect to how we are feeling and then also sharing this with others. The way you describe your husbands unfolding in the past year is beautiful Johanna as this is especially so for men as most of them have been trained from young to not connect to their sensitivity. It is a beautiful testimony to the support your relationship offers to each other.
How often do we accept arguments in relationships as more normal than expressing how much you love someone? When did it become easier to shout and get upset then to tell those closest how much them mean to us.
I agree Rebecca, it quite sad really that we celebrate when some-one expresses love and appreciation for their loved one when really this should be the normal way of living with each other, but as yet this is not the case and we need blogs like Johanna’s to continue to inspire us. Thank God for Serge Benhayon who lives love and appreciation every single day and is showing us that this is the norm and we just have to return to it.
Great questions Rebecca. Yes poor behaviour in relationships does seem to be very common when I observe what is around in day to day life. It is almost like there is an acceptance to treat those closest worse at times than a stranger would get treated.
This form of love is rare in relationships of our modern day. It is rare, very rare in fact, to truly appreciate and let the other person in fully without any hesitation or judgement. This is not only a marker for your now lived level of love, but an inspiration for all of what is possible.
This is a very deep level of appreciation and I can tell that you have felt this for yourself also, because to appreciate another at such a level, one has to be able to express it to oneself.
You are so right here Jinya, because unless you have that deep love and appreciation for yourself it is impossible to have it for another.
Maybe I should write a blog “My gorgeous wife – a beautiful woman to appreciate!”
I think you should write that blog Christoph as there is so, so much to appreciate about Nicola, your self and your relationship and to share this with the world would be a blessing for all.
Thank you Mary-Louise and Christoph – so cute to come across that.
Christoph you write that blog every day in your very loving expression and living ways.
What an amazing blog bringing so much love and truth to relationships and the importance of appreciation of oneself and each other. A beautiful sharing of the true love we all are if allowed and expressed and to feel where it can go forever expanding and appreciating. Love is who we are and it is the missing of this that causes all our hurts and distance from others and ourselves. True love felt and expressed by simply being is so deeply inspiring Thank you Joanna for expressing with so much love and appreciation its very magnifying and infectious.
Your Love is inspirational Johanna! I agree with a lot of the comments above, a lot more appreciation of each other would do a great lot of healing amongst us.
Hello Harrison White and yes agreed, appreciation, true appreciation is the way to go. This alone changes things completely and we all should try it. Any relationship or part of life that you have been stuck in – try appreciating a part of it and see what happens. It is amazing how differently life looks through the eyes of appreciation, you are by no means blind to things, you are more open to what is truly there. Thanks Harrison.
I agree Raymond Karam, when you feel stuck in a realationship or a part of life appreciation helps you to see beyond your issue. I experienced this at work, where I felt that I was stuck and that it didn’t make any sense. The moment I started to appreciate just little aspects, it opened me up to the bigger picture where I could clearly feel the part I played of being in service by bringin all of me to everything I do in my job. And how I naturally then appreciated what my collegues bring equally.
Raymond, that’s sublime….”It is amazing how differently life looks through the eyes of appreciation, you are by no means blind to things, you are more open to what is truly there.”….. and true!
Interesting that we are brought up to be critical rather than appreciative. Always being shown how we could be more or do better but very rarely just stopping to appreciate the beauty in each moment. Almost like part of a game we forget we decided to play, like getting in the matrix and forgetting we know how to get out. Thank you Johanna and all for reminding us that appreciation and true love is the way out and that we don’t have to be stuck if we choose not to be.
Johanna, thank you for your beautiful sharing of what a true loving relationship is for you and your husband.
It is a lovely reminder to firstly appreciate one another -what each one brings to the relationship and how this can be then brought into other relationships equally so.
Thank you Johanna, lovely to feel the commitment to being more love you have for yourself ,the relationship with your husband and the reflection to others, truly inspiring for all.
“it is supportive, beholding and asking us to further question, unfold and return to the greatness we are all actually from”. I find this a very defining quality of love. A quality that some years ago I would not have easily equated with love. Then I perceived love as been the provider of security and stability, which I now look back and see as being stagnant and self-centered. How liberating it is now to see and live love in this way as you so beautifully share Leigh
This part sings to me Johanna…
‘This is an appreciation of him and for him, but also of myself and my deepening commitment to living and being the love that I am in full.’
The connection between loving another and the fact that we must first commit to loving ourselves.
Johanna I LOVE this blog of appreciation.
It interconnects you and your husband and also all of us because we all benefit from the love that is felt between others. Love is not exclusive. Love is INCLUSIVE. It reaches out to all the world and when you and your husband love and adore each other like this we ALL benefit from this emanation.
Thank you Johanna I really enjoyed this celebration of how much we can understand and deeply appreciate each other in a solid relationship.
It would be super gorgeous
The love that you so openly share with your husband is exquisite and a marker of where all true relationships can stand. For me, my intimate relationship with my partner is a constant reminder and marker of how I can be with everyone. Not in a sexual sense but the openness, honesty and intimacy we share.
It seems to me that we should never under estimate the power of appreciation, as the effect on our lives and our relationships can be life changing. And like you have said Johanna in one of your comments ‘it has a ripple effect on all of your relationships’ – now isn’t that something to appreciate. Thank you for a great blog.
It is the microcosm and the macrocosm. All the little things ripple out and have a huge effect.
True Appreciation is definitely a key to deepening relationships with ourselves and others. The beauty is, there is always more to appreciate and enjoy once we choose to express it and make it a natural part of our daily living..
Your blog is really inspiring Johanna. Thank you!
Yes true appreciation. It beautifully unfolds and expands taking us into the finest details and the grandest feelings. Appreciation can begin in one area and lead us to another… deepening our relationships with the world and all those around us. It evolves us and reminds us of our divinity.
Johanna great to feel the togetherness of your path. Relationships can so often be about focusing on everything that is it not, yet after meeting Serge Benhayon i realised that there is a way of pulling each other up, not in a negative way but in a way that calls one another to be more of the love that you know they truly deeply are. This is so beautiful because in all relationships we begin with the understanding of its greatness, its potential to be every more loving and honest.
Openness to the fact that there is always more is what keeps a relationship alive and healthy. Like we move on in our lives, develop and grow also our relationships are constantly asking us to go deeper with each other and support each other in our mutual grow – individually and together.
Michael, your words lift up a curtain that I have never “seen” before. It is not looking at the limits a relationship has but focusing the potential and the endless love it can be.
“These are all qualities that I see and appreciate in him but at times he does not see in himself, or have appreciation for . . . and he is aware of this.” And this is part of the beauty of being in relationship be it with partner, friends, relatives – providing access for our qualities to be reflected back to us so that we can deepen our appreciation for ourselves and in turn for others.
Always beautiful to read someone appreciate their partner. It feels a bit foreign to be honest. So used to hearing complaints, annoyances and partners nagging at eachother while making jokes to their friends in an attempt to bring the other one down. It’s as if it is so uncool to openly appreciate what they have chosen. I have been guilty of this in the past a lot, and it sickens me now when I think about how unnecessary it was for me need to always portray how ‘useless’ my partner was, essentially to make me look like I had been struck with such a burden and poor me, look what I have to deal with.
Spot on Elodie, mostly what I hear from women is complaining about their partners and focusing on what is not good about them. I have done this as well, a lot. The tendency to see what is not there, what he does not do, what should be different and where he should change his habits. It is always about the what is not, instead of what is there to appreciate. This blog is a revelation and such a big inspiration.
We have such a culture of when someone is shining to drop them a peg or two. It is like we look for the negativity of the situation because we believe someone can not be that amazing and in fact it is a reflection for us that we don’t feel we are amazing. There is always something we can appreciate about others and ourselves, we just have to be open to feeling this.
It is true Anne, there is a culture of bringing another down, it is a power game created from jealousy of another’s choices, and it is deliberately designed to hurt people. It is strong in some circles, especially in youth, who are struggling with who they are and the falsely created need to have an identity, to fit in. But we don’t have to fit in with it do we? We can be the love that we are and reflect the beauty and power in that.
Johanna, what a beautiful declaration of appreciation and love for your husband. Great beauty and joy is felt when we walk next to a brother who is choosing love as their way and that beauty is felt in your blog.
This is beautiful Johanna. To show deep appreciation for another and yourself shows a deep love within you that you are willing to express. Love is forever expanding the more we appreciate ourselves and others. Very inspiring.
Gorgeous Johanna. I love the level of appreciation you express for your husband – wouldn’t it be incredible if we could do this with everyone!… There is so much jealousy and comparison between people, and true appreciation of both ourselves and others is the way to counteract this form of vile poison and separation.
I agree Susie. To be rid of jealousy and comparison we need to appreciate, appreciate and appreciate. Even though this might be difficult at times all that is needed is to appreciate the exact thing we are jealous of. Usually when we feel jealous there has been a reflection for us of something we are not but inspire to be.
Absolutely Susie! Bring in humanity and let’s open up, show them who we are and reflect all they are too. Johanna’s simple and deep expression of appreciation is very inspiring to the point of not just seeing each others uniqueness but accepting and appreciating it as part of the whole – we are ALL connected.
I agree Susie – the world would be such an amazing place if we replaced all the comparison and jealousy with appreciation of ourselves and others
Very true Susie, before Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon I had no idea of the level of comparison and abuse in the world, in fact, I just accepted it as normal. And it never occurred to me that I could appreciate and love myself, let alone adore myself. Talk about having a big head… now I know this not to be true, to not live all of me is actually selfish because everyone is missing out on all I have to bring, as I equally miss out when others do not bring all they have. Total shift in perception but as you see from the Universal Medicine’s before and afters, it is working.
Thank you Johanna. Your sharing as really opened up the path for me to deepen the way that I appreciate myself and my partner. I have begun this already, but I can feel that there is a whole lot more appreciation that I can go to. With such a beautiful living example that you have shared, I can see that there is no reason for me not to deep this and go their.
To know the value of ourselves and our partners is enormous as it takes away a lot of the angst that can come into relationships. I too feel the values that my partner brings and absolutely adore and appreciate him for who he is and what he brings. Being this way with him has changed our relationship and there is certainly more love because of it. And yes, this is a reflection of how much I have come to know my own value and what I bring to the world, also deeply appreciate this in myself as it allows me to also see this in others.
There is great potential in all relationships, especially in the relationship with ourselves. When we nurture and appreciate this relationship, it allows the relationship with everyone else to also evolve, if there is the willingness to embrace this evolution.
The world could do with more appreciation, and less judgement, drama and condemnation. Human beings have so much love to offer.
Said from a man that I have seen express this love, it is gorgeous to witness from all !!
Beautiful Johanna,deeply touching!
I know- this is a shame that we so easily not pick the faults but do not fully acknowledge or appreciate the strengths.
This sabotage at times comes in for us too from either side. And I agree, it did tend to come in when everything seems to be going so well- perhaps it comes in purposely to pull the love down ? But when we look at it lovingly and reflect on how and why it happened- there is always yet another learning that unfolds from it and our love deepens as does our trust.
For being a single women, I too can live a caring relationships with every person that I meet, every connection with a person is my chance to share my appreciation for them being a reflection in my life.
And all the appreciation one feels for themself is felt automatically by others. Others feel that they are then naturally held in this same quality and care.
Yes Doug I agree it is a pleasure to read Johanna honouring her husband; I use to hear many complains of friends about their partners, that they not doing what they are asked to do, rather putting them down in conversations. It shows the hight level of love and care in the relationship that Johanna is living with her husband. An absolute must read that everyone can feel the difference.
Johanna I really enjoy feeling the absolute appreciation and love that you hold your husband in and with. It’s a reminder of the appreciation in my life from those towards me and those I also deeply appreciate and love. In fact it shows the real importance is having appreciation as a constant throughout my days. It reminds me of how incredibly loving and appreciative my wife is and my wide extended family.
Thank you Johanna for sharing your appreciation of your husband and your relationship, as it is a far cry from only focussing on the bad points about a person. I have personally found that the more appreciation I have for myself, I am less likely to take my husband for granted and that by having more appreciation for him only serves to deepen our relationship – it’s a win win situation.
I also find this with my partner Julie, ‘by having more appreciation for him only serves to deepen our relationship’, I have at times been quite critical and judgmental of my partner, focussing on the things i didn’t like, almost ignoring the fact he is a very sweet, gentle man, now I am much more understanding and really appreciate my partner, this has allowed us both to appreciate our relationship and our lives.
What an openness to grow together! To appreciate sets the foundation to express more of who we are.
Beautiful Felix!
How deeply felt and deeply respectful and moving.
Johanna what you have shared is glorious for so many reasons and I’m not sure that I can articulate them all but the main ones for me are the fact that you were impulsed to share with all of us the beauty of your husband, the fact that we all get to feel the inner workings of a true relationship, the fact that we get to understand that both of you have your own individual commitment to love and lastly but in no means least we get to feel the beauty that you are.
Wow Alexis thank you. There is also much beauty is your appreciative expression here which I am in full appreciation of.
I hear what you are saying Amina. I keep falling in this trap of focussing on what I cannot do which seems to erase all my strengths. This same judgement I then project on to others. I realize now that it is my responsibilty to be more loving with myself not just for my sake but for everyone’s sake. Great harm can be done through all we unwillingly create.
After reading your blog Johanna i can understand again that we have the choice to choose love and full appreciation of another which is supportive and gives a foundation of growing more love.
That is great point Janina, this is something I have been observing in my relationship. If I hold the love and appreciation for my partner we have a beautiful rhythm and evolution naturally occurs.
A super sweet tribute to you, your husband, to honesty, open-ness, humility, tenderness, understanding and true love. Thank you, Johanna. I am inspired and held by your words.
It is beautiful to appreciate the love we have for others, and how they support us in every way possible. Being and developing love together is a beautiful way to grow.
Johanna, this is one of the most beautiful love letters I have read. I am appreciating the value and how far appreciation goes. It really does allow people to be exactly where they are, without any sense of expectation…including ourselves.
Such a beautiful testimonial Johanna, not just to your husband, but to you for providing the loving, strong and steady foundation for your husband to begin to explore and understand who he is. This is the ultimate living example of the ripple effect of choosing love, a ripple that has now expanded and will flow on to so many more. This is true service.
Thank you Johanna for sharing your beautiful dedication to your wonder full husband, and reminding me to deeply appreciate everything, and that we are constantly being called to be more love, and that the love we are being called to be is never ending.
There is such power in the appreciation that you express here Johanna, indeed the power of love that has no need or investment attached.
So beautiful to read this tender loving blog Johanna. It’s a great feeling when our hearts are full of appreciation for ourselves and those around us. Sometimes I find I can’t find the words to express my deep gratitude but to honour the feeling and appreciate that is the first step. Seeing someone totally open to being more of themselves is such a joy for the love has no end.
“My gorgeous husband is tender, deeply considerate, unimposing, loving, gentle and super caring. He is a powerhouse…” – Thank you Johanna for the inspiration to further celebrate the amazingness of my own gorgeous husband and the beauty of our relationship. This is all very precious.
The celebration of your husband, yourself, your commitment to the forever deepening of your relationship and love are all gorgeous Johanna. Appreciation brings such beauty, joy and claiming in our lives, it should really be a normal part of our health and well-being daily caring routine, like brushing our teeth, having nourishing food or exercising our body…
“we are each unique, we each have our own offerings and strengths in our relationship as we do have areas we each need support with” – how precious and evolving to choose this as part of the foundation of our couple relationship (or rather with ALL of our relationships). Settling for less would not make sense, would it?
When we feel appreciated and when we appreciate others it lights up our world.
Yes I agree Elizabeth, appreciation all round deepens the joy and love in our bodies emanating outward to light up the world!
So true, Elizabeth, and when we appreciate ourselves, our light is available for all to see
Simple, profound, and true what you share here Elizabeth, ‘When we feel appreciated and when we appreciate others it lights up our world.’
“My gorgeous husband continuously surprises me with his level of openness and willingness to deepen the love in himself and in our relationship. I am forever in appreciation and awe of this and I admire that when I present more love, there is not an ounce of resistance in him to going deeper. For me, this is the confirmation of how powerful the expression of love is: it is supportive, beholding and asking us to further question, unfold and return to the greatness we are all actually from.”
I grew up in the bush where the majority of women were harder than the hardest of city men. That’s a bit of a generalization but I can’t describe it any other way. I still struggle with the gentleness of lots of men. A big part of me likes it but clearly it reflects I have some work to do on the picture of how hard a man needs to be to be a real man. The presence of gentle-men challenges me to feel the lack of gentleness in me when I am talking to a man and I go into comparison thinking to myself this guy is gentler than me I tend to go into beating myself up for even thinking that and for the fact that he probably is gentler than me. I know there is both emotional strength within gentleness and gentle men are real men and have the physical strength of any other man. Re reading your opening paragraph I can feel what is challenging me and it is actually the true connection your husband has with himself and his willingness to deepen the love in himself and your relationship. It feels like I have a real fear of trusting myself to allow a deep intimate relationship in case I get hurt. In truth I know if I truly love myself no relationship break up would hurt me and in truth resisting is really hurting me.
Thank you for your open and honest sharing Margaret. From experience, I agree- resistance is a hurt. Surrendering, accepting and allowing myself to be knowing it us all there has been a work in progress and well worth it.
” This is an appreciation of him and for him, but also of myself and my deepening commitment to living and being the love that I am in full”
Such a gorgeous expression of love, appreciation and confirmation for you both Johanna, thank you.
Absolutely Shirl. For without self appreciation we cannot appreciate others.
Agree Fiona Pearce, Serge Benhayon with Miranda in their marriage reflect total truth in partnership that embodies an age-old blueprint for all modern relationships to enjoy harmony and joy, constantly inspiring and re-igniting through their presence and way the great call back towards the Truth that we all know and have lived before – EVOLVING LOVE in relationship.
“This is an appreciation of him and for him, but also of myself and my deepening commitment to living and being the love that I am in full” – great line Johanna, and what a great relationship too. One founded on nothing but love and true equalness is how relationships thrive and blossom.. towards even greater love.
Such a beautiful expression of appreciation that expressed publicly is an inspiration.
I agree Jonathan, to express such a deep appreciation for another is very inspiring and sharings like these are so needed in our world today.
Exactly Jonathon. I was just reflecting on how uncommon it is to hear one speak of their partner so openly and with SOOO much respect.
It seems to be such a social no go zone to share your appreciation so publicy.
I too am blessed to have a beautiful and loving man as a husband. His level of tenderness is constantly an inspiration to me as a woman.
Johanna, in a world that is constantly telling men they need to be strong, competitive providers, I love that you celebrate what your husband brings and his willingness to grow and unfold.
How gorgeous to read a blog appreciating the love in your partner, yourself and your relationship. I often see couples in cafes looking uncomfortable or bored with each other, hoping the food will arrive soon. This blog inspires me that. It highlights that all you need is love and willingness to keep growing.
Thank you Johanna for sharing, so beautiful to read about your loving intimate relationship with your self and your husband, there is no end to this deepening as we fully commit to be all we can be.
Thanks for sharing this with everyone Johanna, it is really beautiful and inspiring. It makes me see how beautiful it is when we all share and express our love for each other and how it touches those around us.
Hear hear Rosie, the language of appreciation is one that we all understand and are fluent in, when we choose it.
Thank you Johanna for your beautiful love letter to your husband. This line really stood out for me “…. the unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love”. This feels like what is at the foundation of my life and what is impulsing my daily rhythm.
I love this line too. It is golden as is the never ending love from our soul. It is a joy and beautiful holding to feel this love pulsing our daily rhythm.
Appreciation, is magical, it heals, inspires, it supports, it transforms life and relationships. It was a true pleasure to read of your appreciation for your husband, your relationship and how this commitment, openness and love spreads out like ripples to the rest of humanity. A joy!
Yes so true Fiona and Samantha, it starts with self first and then spreads to others, lighting up everyone we come into contact with, so beautiful.
Thank you Samantha. Recently I have been further appreciating more deeply that this simple act of appreciation for self and others holds for us. I am finding the more I confirm and appreciate, the more solid I am in living my being and also the quicker I am to get myself out of moments that challenge or are there to cause complication or doubt.
When we hold our selves with a loving tender appreciation we can then hold another in this same quality. Then there are expediential possibilities for more love, appreciation, understanding and trust to continually going deeper. Thank you for sharing your very beautiful blog Johanna
It feels so natural and beautiful to read the tender words that flow here about your husband Johanna. How could it be any other way? Yet what you’re experiencing is in a deep contrast to the back biting and competition we see in many relationships. It feels like the absolute appreciation you have brought to you is the key cornerstone of this intimacy you now both share.
To truly know another’s worth and deeply appreciate this is extraordinarily healing and it allows no room for anything else such as the back biting and competition that you have referred to Joseph. A relationship built on mutual appreciation is one built on a solid foundation and will sustain each person in the relationship, in fact it will support them to go even deeper into the Love that they both are.
It is gorgeous to read not only this blog, but also the other comments where women are sharing their love for their own gorgeous, tender, caring men whom they have so much love for. It is not so common in society for people to openly and genuinely express this quality of love about their partners. Complaints are frequently discussed, but this level of love sharing is beautiful.
It is beautiful to hear that when you present more love, there is “not an ounce of resistance”. This is not always the case when we bring more love and there can be plenty of reaction and resistance when the level of love is turned up a notch. Reading this, I realised that I’m a little apprehensive about bringing more love, but your blog is very confirming of love. Love is forever calling us to go deeper. Your blog is a confirmation of what is possible.
I have also been a bit hesitant in the past to go to a greater level of love, Nikki, due to not wanting to feel people’s reactions or resistance. What I have come to accept recently is that sometimes there needs to be a grace period for others to let go of what is in the way for them to also step up in Love and this needs to be respected and also not taken personally. It’s like you drop a love bomb and then you hold steady while everyone regroups – a little wiser and a little more lovelier.
So true Nikki.
Thank you Johanna for sharing your love and appreciation of your equally gorgeous husband, and the commitment you both have in always deepening your relationship and sharing that with everyone. What stands out for me is how much of our relationships come down to choices and our intention in them. Thanks for the powerful and inspiring reminder of how we can all naturally be in our relationships.
When we appreciate someone, we bring value to the relationship. It not only allows someone to feel great, but also builds a new platform for each other.
So true Matthew, appreciating another it is a beautiful way that we confirm the love that they are supporting them to build new foundations and in turn a new platform for each other.
It is so gorgeous and heart warming to read a blog from a woman who deeply loves and appreciates her husband. This is the kind of stories that should be in the newspaper.
Agreed. How incredible it would be if people across the world read this and return to their relationships and all interactions with a willingness to be open, tender,loving and sweet with one another – letting go of holding back patterns – I can feel the ripple effects and they are an always invitation.
In the least shared on social media.
In the end what counts most is how much we have truly loved – love for ourselves and love with others.
Why is it that often we stumble most to express to those closest to us how much we love and adore them – more than just saying ‘I love you’ but actually explaining the little beautiful details about that person that you love – it is so beautiful to receive and to express.
I agree Rebecca, this is the most beautiful thing about relationships!
So true Rebecca, we miss out on seeing so much when all we see is what someone does ‘wrong’ when really there are often so many of the tiny details that we can easily overlook that just shows to us how caring someone is. This really does reflect what we are seeing in ourselves and how much detail we ourselves go to in appreciating ourselves. When we start to appreciate ourselves in the detail, we also begin to do this with others and this is exquisitely beautiful.
I agree, it is a self reflection – how hard on ourselves are we about the things we have done wrong, and how open are we to seeing all the amazing things about ourselves.
This is such an inspiring blog in so many ways. It shows the tenderness and grace that men can live with. It shows the power of deeply appreciating someone that is such a joy to read. And it shows “the unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love”.
A beautiful dedication to the love and openness of your husband Johanna. Just appreciating the opportunity you offer here! – to make appreciation a frequent part of my day.
It is beautiful to feel your appreciation of the beauty of your husband. I feel that I am also appreciated too.
This is a very beautiful sharing Johanna. I love how you equally appreciate yourself as you do your husband, very deeply honouring of the two of you. Thank you for sharing with us all.
Recently my husband had his birthday and at the end of the dinner we all expressed what we loved and appreciated about him, it was awesome and something that felt so honouring of someone that we don’t need to wait till birthdays to do. Let out the love.
‘Let out the love.’ Yes vanessamchardy it would be amazing if we all lived by this and it is so possible. Thank you I feel inspired to not wait to express my appreciation.
Reading the comments that follow this blog, are just as heart warming as the blog itself. Knowing that this level of appreciation and care and love is being lived and shared across the world is totally inspiring and with that comes huge appreciation in itself.
This is great for me to read as I am learning to express my appreciation for my husband also. Inspiring thank you for your willingness to share this intimate love with the world.
Thank you for your article, Johanna, which overflows with love, appreciation, inspiration, adoration for all to feel. Beautiful.
A gorgeous reminder that love has endless depths which we can embrace and accept when our soul calls us to go deeper. How amazing to have a partner who is willing and able to go there with you.
When we meet a new partner and ‘fall in love’ it is easy to feel that they are our ‘soul mate’ and we get upset when we find out that we have different interests and little ways of being. What your blog shows, Johanna, is how two people can appreciate and celebrate each other and the love between you can deepen as you deepen yourselves as individuals.
Very inspiring to read about the level of understanding you have both reached in your relationship and the strength of the foundation you have created that allows you to continue to evolve both as individuals in your own right and as a couple.
There is nothing more beautiful than the true appreciation and utmost treasuring of another person. I know how you feel, I feel totally blessed to be with my husband, he is one of the most beautiful, strong and totally gorgeous people I know, and I get to live with him and share my life with him… it’s truly amazing and I am thankful for this every single day!
Thank you Johanna for sharing your deep appreciation for your husband and also the commitment that you both have to expanding this love for yourselves and each other and how that then reflects out in all your relationships. A true blessing for us all and deeply inspirational.
Johanna, continue to appreciate your beautiful husband, he is worth his weight in gold 🙂
Appreciate him as much as he appreciates you!
You are both an example of what an ever evolving, truly loving relationship can be when harmony and honesty is lived. You have further inspired me to not settle for anything less!
Dear Johanna I love to read your block and feel true love and relationship in expression its so lovely to feel the harmony and the steady comittement to go deeper. There is always a deeper level of love :))
I often find that by appreciating people in this way, I open my heart to feeling the love that I already have for everyone, it just takes that single choice to fully let one person in.
Its interesting – there is so much appreciation here, but one of the things that jumped out at me was despite all the good that is so obvious in the blog, its so easy to miss it in ourselves. This is why a reflection from other people is so important… being in relationship, whether with a partner or a friend, is a vital part of seeing the big picture.
Johanna your blog is an absolute joy to read. The depth of love and appreciation for your husband is felt in every word throughout the appreciation you hold for yourself.
It is beautiful to stop and consider the qualities of our partners and friends and express them in full.
If honesty and love are the basis in our relationship, we will support each other by valuing our strengths as well as reflecting to each other what we are truly up to. From this anything is possible and new wonders are to be seen every day.
Johanna, what a beautiful blog in celebration of your husband, of yourself and your relationship. It’s beautiful that you are open to sharing this celebration with us all.
Just gorgeous Johanna ‘This is an appreciation of him and for him, but also of myself and my deepening commitment to living and being the love that I am in full’. What you express oozes with love and is marker for all relationships.
“The unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love” – reading this, I can feel the great warmth inside me, and that it was my own choices that have prevented this call to be heard and received, and I have a choice to do it differently.
I love this Johanna. To me this is something that is so needed in our lives that we are recognised and appreciated for the gorgeousness we are, and when we do so we will continue to grow this. I do recognise that I too do not always see the qualities I have, not to mention that I do not appreciate these as well. But becoming aware of this, with the help of others, I am learning that I am so such more than I have allowed myself to feel and that through self appreciation I am building and am able to accept and feel these qualities in my whole body from where I can actively live and express these qualities in my everyday life, wherever I go.
This is gorgeous Johanna. It is very beautiful and healing to be in a relationship where you are both committed to being love, with yourself and each other.
This is such an inspirational sharing. Thank you, Johanna. Often we see surveys like ‘what do you look for in your ideal husband/wife?’ and we see a list of options for the answers such as: the money, the profession, the looks etc., and what you present here is of something totally different. Here is a truly intimate relationship that is based on, and appreciates the value and the quality of what each of you bring. Very beautiful.
I could talk all day about the man I have as my partner, he is beautiful, extremely tender, loving, kind and super caring. Everyday with this man is a real blessing, he inspires so much in me.
Appreciation of ourselves and others opens our heart to love.
Thank you so much for sharing this Johanna it is so beautiful and inspiring to hear you express like this about your husband. Too often in our media negative stories are written about relationships with a lot of moaning and groaning about ones spouse (unless of course they have died then the story will probably be written in sympathy) your article is a true breath of fresh air – I love it – I love the appreciation that oozes out from these pages, i love that you and your husband are living that love and that you are expressing for all. Thank you Johanna
Its heartening to read about a relationship based on love and respect that is continually deepening and evolving
“For me, this is the confirmation of how powerful the expression of love is: it is supportive, beholding and asking us to further question, unfold and return to the greatness we are all actually from.” Johanna sharing the absolute honest appreciation you hold for your husband, shows just how much care and love you hold for yourself too. This is truly inspiring for all relationships including the relationship with ourselves. we are forever learning and what’s not to love about that?
Johanna, a beautiful ode of appreciation to your gorgeous husband. It is divine to feel such love in your words. Thank you for sharing this love with us all.
Johanna, what a beautyFull photo of the two of you- love beaming out for all to see.
So lovely to hear about what you deeply appreciate in your husband and how this is truly a reflection about you also.
My gorgeous husband is also a tender, deeply considerate, loving, super caring, sexy, wise and wonderful powerhouse and for just a moment I wondered if we had married the same man.
Why, Thank You.
Blushing deeply, exiting left.
Thank you, Nicola.
Ha ha, Nicola, you make me laugh! Thank you 🙂
Beautiful Nicola, what you and Johanna have shared about your gorgeous husbands, I also say and feel the same about mine. It is so refreshing to read how naturally we can hold and appreciate another with absolute love. This is an everyday for many couples, The complete opposite of gossip sessions that many women often have about their husbands when together, complaining and putting them down. What I notice and know too well of doing this myself in the past, is that it usually comes down to a misunderstanding or lack of expression and addressing what is really going on between them. Blogs like this one is so inspiring and offers another way to be with our partners and in all relationships.
Lovely ode Nicola – one can feel the truth in all you said there!
Ha ha Nicola, this really made me laugh. I am really enjoying reading this massive husband appreciation!
Johanna this is truly inspiring not just how much you are both willing to be open to a true and loving relationship with each other but your willingness to celebrate and truly, deeply appreciate your husband and the incredible man that he is.
Johanna your blog gives me a taste of how a loving relationship can be – if feels so spacious and yet like a lovely warm hug, ever expanding.
This is a beautiful blog of appreciation, I can very much relate to not being able to appreciate in myself what another can, it reminds me of the Dove videos where people are asked to describe strangers and the images the strangers portray are fare less hard and more beautiful than the images people describe of themselves.
The ability to appreciate and confirm our qualities is something that Universal Medicine has been supporting us with. It has become almost auto pilot to dismiss or not be able to see our qualities or only focus on those we get recognition for. This is such a shame, as the qualities we hold are all come from divinity. If we hold our qualities as less, we hold divinity as less. I am finding appreciation is a doorway back to the glory of the divinity we all are from. Instead of dismissing, we can say, ‘Of course I am amazing, I am divine by nature.
Fiona I have wondered about that too. Why can’t we see in ourselves what others can. My feeling is that we know to the bone how powerful appreciation is. You only need to appreciate yourself for one day to feel the difference and how simply everything becomes. Having no complication in life can be a challenge.
Thank you so much Johanna! This level of appreciation should be an everyday occurrence in all of our households. If we had this, then how could indulge in fighting and drama? There would be no room for it! And as you have shared, bringing this appreciation to another, also allows us to bring it more to ourselves and vice versa. This allows for a deeper quality in our relationships with all, and the sharing of a level of love that is much needed by people everywhere.
Thats Beautiful Amelia, thank you for sharing! This level of appreciation should be the very day occurrence. It inspires me to go all the way when I am expressing to someone how much I love them, to not hold back one single iota. When this has been experienced it would be hard to indulge in fighting or drama as you say, because the reflection of how otherwise things are would be too strong, and to fight would simply seem silly because there is already so much love established in the first place.
Johanna what I felt from this blog was the fact that the moment we begin to love and appreciate ourselves and be open to living that in life our eyes open to the true beauty of all in life. I feel through self-appreciation and love we open the door to truly seeing the value and equal love of all those in our lives. What a beautiful love letter to you and your husband.
Yes Joshua Campbell, it is so true that we all benefit when someone is living more of the soul-full love as you and your husband are choosing to do Johanna and the proof is in your gorgeous picture together. Very inspiring for us all, thank-you for sharing your beautiful love for each other.
Thank you Johanna. How beautiful to share your loving relationship with us all. It really spells out to me if both of you are in love with one’s own self then the end result can only be what you have expressed.
How gorgeous and deeply honouring of your husband. It is really beautiful to read a loving sharing of a woman’s appreciation of her relationship with her husband and how you are both committed to being the love that you are, with yourselves and with each other. Thank you for sharing Johanna.
This struck me as well – far from being an ode to one’s woes, this was a tour de force of all that is good about your husband and the life you are living. It was gorgeous to read.
This is gorgeous Johanna. That we can forever deepen our relationships with ourselves and each other -something I often put the brakes on but am inspired to be more love.
What a beautiful confirmation Johanna, “the unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love.”
Appreciation of ourselves and acceptance that we are that love with all our varied expressions is something to surely celebrate. We all benefit when we live the truth of who we are.
I loved that part too as it shows that we are all equally afforded this love in all our relationships. Let our souls light the way back to expressing love.
Johanna, this is a beautiful and open sharing of the celebration of your love — thank you. When relationships are based on the commitment to love, it is amazing to feel the death intimacy that is forever going deeper and deeper, and the tremendous healing that we then bring to all our other relationships as well.
Johanna this is a beautiful love letter to your husband, thank you for sharing it here with us. What you have written has allowed me to stop and notice my own level of appreciation and my expression of it to those around me. Appreciation is such a vitally crucial nutrient for growing relationships with others and with ourselves, we could say it feeds evolution 🙂
I agree Rosanna. It is so much more inviting to surrender and be ourselves, open and loving when we know the other fully feels who we are and expresses their appreciation. It definitely supports evolution for all.
What a gorgeous blog Johanna and a confirmation of the love you bring to your family to inspire your husband to keep deepening the love he has for himself and for you. Very inspiring, thank you.
I loved reading your appreciation for your husband. How beautiful it is for us to truly stop and reflect on how much love other people can offer us and claim in themselves. And I am sure your husband feels every ounce of your appreciation – which is an absolute confirming of who he is.
A gorgeous blog indeed that has also made me truly appreciate my partner and how for the first time I feel like I am in a loving relationship where we are both committed to going deeper.
Honouring and true appreciation for each other is wonderful, but by choosing to not sit back and stay in the comfort at that level, being willing to be forever expanding the love and appreciation you have for one another and equally for all those around you is amazingly powerful and truly inspiring for other couples, family, friends and work colleagues to feel.
What you have started by your own commitment to love Johanna is gorgeous to now see reflected in your relationship you have with your husband …A powerhouse couple for sure! Love the photo!
Absolutely beautiful sharing Johanna. You have inspired me for my next relationship in choosing to make it about love and nothing else. I love the space and appreciation you have for your husband, which can only come from that which you have built for yourself.
Johanna, this is such a beautiful, honest sharing. What a gorgeous relationship you have with your husband. How wonderful to be able to live so openly, lovingly and celebrating life with a man who is willing to go all the way with you. With this attitude, there will be a continual growth in your relationship and in yourselves. This is the way that one day all relationships will be. Wow, won’t that be a great world!
What a beautiful declaration of Love and the admiration that you have for your husband and the Love that you share together is so gorgeous. It is so true Johanna that the unending love from Our Soul, is always calling us to be more love. And the more we surrender to this Love, the more we are our true magnificent selves. The beautiful thing is that when we choose to be open to Love, we are open to learn and support each other to strengthen our weakness whilst appreciating and confirming our strengths. Through appreciating the strengths in ourselves and each other we can appreciate the Love we already are and have connected to which builds our confidence to work on our weaknesses. And it is with this loving support and inspiration that we can expand, grow and deepen our connection to the Love of our Soul and be more of our magnificence with one and all.
Absolutely brilliant Carola. Building each others strengths is a way to work on each others weaknesses, sounds a bit like “the what is” (what is true) and “the what is not” (what is not true). If the what is is constantly confirmed, then how could the what is not stand a chance?
When we can experience what you describe Johanna: to be in
‘an intimate, fully committed relationship with a man where we treat each other as equals: we are each unique, we each have our own offerings and strengths in our relationship as we do have areas we each need support with.’
it is the foundation for being this in every way with everyone else. We heal and re-build the trust and then it becomes possible to really live this love that we are. It is a reflection of our own willingness to heal the lack of self worth, the hurts and issues, opening up to love again.
I completely agree Emma. This relationship has supported me to express many qualities that I now trust to bring into other relationships.
The power of appreciation is something I am experiencing and seeing all around me at the moment. To acknowledge and confirm what is there, shifting the focus away from what is not there and really feeling solid in that has great power and confirms who we really are: the grandness of the love that is our essence and can be our everything when we appreciate and express from this place.
I too have been learning the power of appreciation Johanna. I have found that when I deeply appreciate people – especially those closest to me like my partner and daughter – I see them for who they truly are, rather than focusing on the behaviours that I react to and get annoyed about. Through appreciation our love has too been developing, deepening and expanding. I am more in love with my partner than ever and the best thing is that know that this will continue. Amazing and so different from what I ever thought was possible.
This sounds like a delicious recipe for true family to me!
Yes, true Marcia,, and then that love extends to all.
When we appreciate each other and focus on the amazing qualities we offer in any relationship, it allowing us to go deeper and further build on our relationships to be based on love.
I agree appreciation is so powerful. And I find when I appreciate someone the depth of love and appreciation I feel for them deepens all the time, and with that my appreciation for life and everything in my life.
Appreciation really is the key to expanding ourselves into ever greater love, there is absolutely no limit to our ever deepening love – the love we come from, the love we are. Thank you Johanna for sharing your appreciation – beautiful to feel.
Thank you for this beautiful inspiring blog Johanna. It is so gorgeous how you both support each other to deepen your love and express your deep appreciation towards husband. This is something I am working on in my relationships too.
Hi Chan, I don’t think we have to work on appreciating ourselves and each other. What we do is work on NOT appreciating ourselves and each other. We work on creating problems that don’t exist so we can be identified with solving them. We work very, very hard on not expressing the love that we naturally are. Therefore we don’t need to work on love, we just have to stop working so hard on rejecting it.
“we don’t need to work on love, we just have to stop working so hard on rejecting it. ” Love it Nicola so very true. Love never leaves us, it is there constantly all we need to do is say yes to it! This reminds me of a brilliant article by Lyndy Summerhaze http://www.unimedliving.com/serge-benhayon/living-wisdom/our-universal-relationship-have-we-checked-our-inbox-lately.html
I agree Samantha and Nicola, so often we put love outside of ourselves as something we need to seek or find yet somehow forget that we have it within and are born with it. It never leaves us we just choose to bury it under layers of how we think we should be, act and behave. I certainly fell for this trick.
That is brilliant Nicola and so true we have no issues we are the divine essence of god, stop putting so much effort and dedication into denying that and hey presto we are love!!! Thank you I love your expression.
It is so healing to be able to read this dedication. Thank you for sharing the details of your loving and tender relationship with your husband with us all Johanna. I am inspired as I can feel that true love is possible and being lived by many.
Thank you Leonne. Everyday I am inspired and appreciate – the more I feel it the more it reflects. And when I don’t feel this loving marker then I know there is something to look at in myself and the situation.
Absolutely inspired Johanna of your love for yourself and your husband. What you share with us is a celebration of what you have chosen and it is a joy to be a part of. Thank you.
I agree, the love, appreciation and joy can be strongly felt and as is the deep love you have for your husband and the changes he has made and the love you hold for yourself. I loved reading every word.
This is a very very beautiful sharing Johanna. The spaciousness that can exist in a relationship when each person gives themselves space to embrace more of who they truly are is not only an amazing deepening that is to be shared in the relationship, it remains an amazing evolution for us all as we all benefit when someone is living more of the Soul-full Love
I absolutely agree, Joshua, we can all benefit “when someone is living more of the Soul-full Love”. What role models this couple are for other couples to see that there is such a different, but beautiful relationship that can be lived when living together soulfully. This surely must magnify and expand over the years, truly amazing.
Yes well said Beverly: “What role models this couple are for other couples to see that there is such a different, but beautiful relationship that can be lived when living together soulfully.” Couples living in a true way are inspiring everyone around them with the offering of an unemotional and deeply loving way of being with each other.
It is great to read your ability to see everything about your husband that makes him amazing – and because you can see those qualities in him, they must also therefor be in you, which is why appreciation is completely different to comparison. Thank you for sharing.
You raise a subtle but huge point here Rebecca – I agree that it is because of Jo’s love in herself that she is able to see, and rejoice in the love she sees in her husband. I don’t feel an ounce of competition or comparison in her appreciation of her husband…
Johanna, it is delightful to feel your unreserved love for your husband and your love for All. – ‘This is a dedication to the love and openness of my husband, and the unending love from Our Soul, always calling us to be more love.’ An expression from our soul, true love, always encompasses each and every soul.
Absolutely Eva, true love is never confined to just two people. True love is never restrictive. When we say yes to loving in full in our intimate relationships, then this same quality of unreserved love is there for all. Love never distinguishes and when we claim it for ourselves we emanate it to everyone.
I agree Eva, Johanna’s love for all is so evident in this blog. She is expressing about qualities in her husband but this level of love cannot be there for one, if it is not there for all. You can really feel this in the way Johanna writes, and the joy she so naturally lives and shares. So beautifully inspirational – thank you Johanna.
Johanna, I can feel the strength and gentleness of your connection and love for each other. To have an ongoing commitment to each other to deepen your love is a reflection in the universe which will be felt by all.
I agree Anne, for others to feel relationships like Johanna’s and her husbands is truly inspiring. But as I write this, I can also feel the same of the love that can be shared between parents and children, friendships, work colleagues. Although those are all different, any relationship that is build on love, respect and appreciation is something to appreciate, celebrate and inspire. This is what I feel Johanna sums up when she speaks of her developing love with all in her life.
The power of love is felt in your blog and shared in the gorgeous picture of the two of you. A very inspiring reminder in this blog too ‘Our Soul is always calling us to be more’ Thank you Johanna and husband for sharing the Love.
Yes, by expressing your love here Johanna without any reservation, we’ve also all had the blessing of it. An amazing testimony to what it is to let love in in full, and then to share our love in full.
I agree great line ‘Our Soul is always calling us to be more’, takes away from the latest generational belief that “You only live once (YOLO).” Very easy to live irresponsibly if you believe your actions have no consequences, do what ever you want because you are not coming back. Thank you for sharing here Johanna that our choices do impact on others and how beautiful to see that making responsible choices grows everyone.
More and more I am beginning to understand what it is truly appreciate the uniqueness of the people I am in relationships with. To commit to understanding why it is that they do what they do and appreciate it even if they can’t see it themselves – if I see it and share it, like others have done with me it they have an opportunity to feel what it is that is in the path of them living their way.
What a very gorgeous and loving message to your husband, he must feel like a million dollars. No, you can’t put a monetary value on this. Just beautiful Johanna.
No, there is not even a monetary value that comes close to what you describe Johanna in your gorgeous blog.
Super gorgeous Matthew, imagine all relationships committed to this level of expression and appreciation, hard to imagine there would be any issues in the world. Thank you Johanna for sharing how truly evolving relationships can be.
Lucky me, I know this man you speak of and agree 100%.
Thanks for sharing this Johanna. Appreciation is the glue in a relationship with ourselves and each other. If we don’t appreciate, we feel we have nothing to offer, so then we don’t open up to what can be expressed through us that is loving and unifying. I’m starting to understand the power of appreciating and confirming our strengths as well as our weaknesses, which are not really weak, when accepted as not being one of our strengths.
Awesome comment Jinya. I love this part ‘Appreciation is the glue in a relationship’, it holds and bonds relationship together and opens our hearts. The power of appreciation is absolutely incredible and I agree it is deeply confirming.
I love the way you have worded this last sentence Jinya, there leaves no room for lack of appreciation when we are accepting our so called ‘weaknesses’ as simply not being one of our strengths. Some areas we simply have not given our full attention to and so have not developed that particular strength as yet. We can work beautifully together when we appreciate each other’s strengths.
I love this too Victoria. And in appreciating our strengths and accepting the things that are not our strengths as yet, we can work together because there is no comparison, jealousy or separation, but simply a merging into a one unified team – as we were designed to be – all equal parts of the one whole.
There is much love in exposing our weaknesses to another. Anyone can present their best side, but in intimacy, our weaknesses are revealed. How are we to work on our weaknesses unless we let them out? Love is not only in the confirming of each other, but in the accepting of another’s weaknesses. They are only weak because we have not yet turned our attention and commitment to them.
I love what you have said Jinya “appreciation is the glue in a relationship with ourselves and each other” I am realising how powerful appreciation is. It’s wonderful when you appreciate something about yourself and the realise that “oh I deserve that”. It’s very beautiful and very naturally hold another person in that same love that you are showing yourself.
I can literally feel a dam being blown open when I allow myself to express my appreciation of another. It feels delightful to express and we all grow from it. Win win!
Very beautiful sharing Jinya and such a good reminder to confirm that appreciation and is one of our best tools on the way to build a deep understanding and love for ourselves.
So true, our soul always invites to go deeper and to be more love. This never stops. Appreciation supports this process of deepening relationships significantly.
What a beautiful love letter, I feel honoured to have been able to read it thank you.
This is all that you can really ever ask for in a relationship
Pure trust, ability to deepening and build the relationship and work on it everyday
Thank you for sharing this Johanna, very inspiring to feel the commitment and love you both have for yourselves and each other
Absolutely inspirational Johanna and having met you both recently, I could feel the truth of your connection and the gentleness of your foundation as a couple and as a reflection to others. Thank you!
It is simply beautiful to read a blog like yours Johanna as it reminds us of the important of appreciating ourselves and each other.
True Elizabeth, Johanna’s beautiful blog shows just how powerful appreciation is. I often observe how we show our affection by making fun and putting each other down, almost like it is too scary to truly express and or show how we truly feel. Thank you for letting go of your protections Johanna and showing us that it can be done and just how beautiful it is when you do.
The basis of a true relationship is one of appreciation and support and honesty. You say this so succinctly Johanna with: ‘ … we are each unique, we each have our own offerings and strengths in our relationship as we do have areas we each need support with’. With what you write there is so much understanding in you that underpins your relationship with your husband – this is what true LOVE is all about.
So true, Johanna and Shevon: honesty and understanding form the basis on which we can constantly build to deepen the love for ourselves and for each other.
Beautifully pointed out Shevon and Michael. What Johanna has shared is foundational for all relationships. That honesty, understanding and appreciation are key to growing and deepening our connection to Love for ourselves and each other. A reflection of true Love indeed.
With honesty and understanding, there is a basis for true acceptance and appreciation, what a wonderful foundation for any relationship.
What a beautiful tribute to love, to relationships, to people, to your husband, to yourself and to life. What you share here is for me the true foundation of relationships.
Ahhh…appreciation is so good for the soul.
‘fully committed relationship with a man where we treat each other as equals: we are each unique, we each have our own offerings and strengths in our relationship as we do have areas we each need support with.’
I love this comment above because it sums up nicely how relationships can be about evolving each other, but also supporting each other…
So many relationships that I see are stuck in wanting to change the partner, but are not willing to deal with their own issues.
Thank you Marika, your comment reminds me how I’ve previously been stuck in wanting to change the other person in a relationship. I am in a relationship now and this is something I am working on, to bring more appreciation, equality, gentleness and love. Also to be more patient without judgement and to allow the other person to just be without any expectations. Reading this blog and the awesome comments, I am learning and I am deeply inspired to continuously appreciate myself and others all equally.
I agree Marika. What is so beautiful in what Johanna has shared is the willingness of both herself and her husband to be open to what there is to develop further in themselves and each other. The appreciation they have of themselves, each other and their relationship allows them to truly support each other in this without needing anything else from the other.
I am really willing to start appreciating myself and my husband more and actually express that in all ways.
Yes it is the willingness that is truly precious. This means that all else can be addressed with the foundation of love being strong and steady. Beautiful.
And ultimately, it is our willingness to evolve in a relationship that is the game changer.
Yes, that willingness to evolve changes everything and imbues a relationship with true purpose and joy. It does away with this notion that when you get together or get married, that is it and the pinnacle of sorts – when it is really only the start.
So true. The getting together is the beginning. The start of looking at everything together, learning to be all of you with another, learning to deeply trust and surrender, learning to be unwaveringly open and honest. The relationship is a daily confirmation of the love each has for themselves and knows lay deep within.
Many, sadly, in society believe it is the end point and slowly fall into a comfortable arrangement.
Gabriele I wholeheartedly agree that the willingness to evolve in a relationship (any relationship!) imbues the relationship with true purpose & joy. Happily ever after does not cut it if the willingness to go deeper is not there.
Johanna I love this written dedication to lived love, appreciation of what you bring to each other and of Soul. It feels absolutely gorgeous.
What strikes me here Johanna is the appreciation you have – certainly for your husband but also for yourself and the true support you are offering each other to develop and deepen your relationship.
Beautiful to read and feel your love, Johanna. I love the way you write about your husband, all the qualities, and the fact that he sometimes is not aware of this but open to love.
That’s an unfolding and ongoing process for everyone. I started my day from appreciating myself and already feel how it opens me to appreciate and value others.
Thank you for your sharing Joanna, what you share with your husband is what we can all have in our relationships if we are open to letting down our guards, our ideals and everything that is getting in the way to just being and expressing love.
Beautifully put Katinka, and thank you for the reminder in your words here also. It is so important to keep working on breaking down the protections we hold, and the ideals that stop us from simply being love with one another in our relationships.
Yes, Katinka, it is possible for all of us to have a relationship built on mutual appreciation, respect and true love. What Johanna has described here is not reserved for a select few, it is open to all. That is the beauty of what has been shared here and why it is so inspiring.
To appreciate each other in relationships is so important and makes such a difference. When I feel appreciated by myself or another something opens up in me and expands, I become bigger, more of who I am and therefore can contribute more love to the world.
This is absolutely beautiful Joahanna, Appreciating and supporting each other on the path to be all that you can be with each other, all others, and yourselves in every part of our day. True inspiration.
A wonderful response Heidi,
I really hold relationships in such high regard when they are about true evaluation and growth together as a couple but honouring the individual essence of each individual aswell. It’s beautiful.
There is such power when we behold another in appreciation,, as our equal, in essence as love.
How could one resist a man who is willing to open his heart up to the world for all to see? Too few of us are willing to express our love, and so life is as it is – a hardened shell of an existence devoid of the finer qualities that make us who we truly are. Society burns for more love, and yet jealousy, comparison and a propensity to hold on to the comfort of what is familiar prevent us from appreciating it when it is presented before us. The world is open to us when we are open to ourselves, and to each other. Then the veil lifts, and we realise the splendour of our own love, and the love that lies deep within all. Beautifull blog. Thank you…
Yes, opening up our hearts to the world is the most beautiful thing in the world, and there we find all the love and exquisiteness that we have been looking for all our lives. It is absolutely amazing to then share it with another.
Word, Adam! Society burns for more love. You said so much in those lines. Beautiful comment.
Wisely spoken Adam…
Society is asking for more open and tender men, as per many advertisement campaigns, however on the other hand society may, at its’ convenience also cut them down.
However if we are open to love and are uncompromising we will be able to lift all around us. No matter if they are in admiration or comparison.
Yet another powerful comment Adam. Thank you. Your words always make me pause and bask in the divinity they offer.
Thank you Johanna this is so inspiring to read. I can feel the depth and expansion of love that you allow your relationship to grow in and with……returning to the absoluteness of your soul. Very beautiful.
Forming a relationship with a partner who is prepared to call you out whilst holding you dear is a sign of maturity and responsibility in both parties.
I love this Victoria – a commitment to love and knowing the love that is within each of us.
Beautifully said Victoria – as calling out what is not Love is truly an act of Love, and simply an expression of truth.
Agree Victoria, these are great traits to have in all relationships to make them true.
It calls for maturity, the will to make everything about love, and knowing that that is the only loving and responsible course in life. That is how we place our hurts and our eagerness to be hurt to one side, and to always know that other person by their essence…no matter how they are behaving in that moment.
So here is a question…what if we do offer that same level of responsibility to ourselves as well? Even when our behaviour is a bit off we can give ourselves the loving grace to know that underneath all of that is a essence that is magnificent. Yes, we can hold ourselves dear. That is indeed maturity.
Love the question Rachel. This is something I have been noticing with myself lately, if I’m inpatient or have expectations on someone then I also have those expectations on myself.
I love what you have shared Rachael. The word ‘maturity’ says it all to me. What you have presented is a circular story for if we understand ourselves we understand others more and if we are really committed to understanding others we understand ourselves more. Bringing understanding and love to every situation is indeed a sign of maturity.
That’s powerful Rachel and indeed a real question to ponder. It’s often easier to look at our relationships, without really considering our relationship with ourselves. For if we are being hard with ourselves in any way, this is how we are being with others. Learning to appreciate ourselves in every moment and in all that we do, not because of what we do but because of the quality of ourselves that we are holding dear in that moment, is such a beautiful way to learn about ourselves.
I agree Rachel, so beautifully expressed and how treasuring for us to hold ourselves in this way
Beautifully said Victoria. It is indeed a sign of a true relationship
Well said, Victoria, ~ that’s called love.
A willingness to go deeper and evolve together. As in call out and be called out, it’s all part of the beautiful process.
A relationship that has evolution at its core. A relationship of true love.
It’s amazing isn’t, it how true and steady a relationship can be? When I think back to the days before my amazing husband happened along I lurched from one difficult relationship to the next. What made the difference? Working on me, so I could be ‘true-relationship ready’, and ready to meet a man I deserved rather than a man I settled for out of need and a lack of self-worth.
This is a great point Victoria, yes there is a big difference between connecting to the love within us and being that love compared with expecting that love from outside of us to fill a need or lack that we feel. Appreciation and accepting that we are love to begin with changes everything.
Indeed without being able to behold ourselves in a loving and appreciative way there is little chance to have the depth of love and acceptance that is expressed in this blog, rather only a relationship based on having our needs met.
Victoria I can totally relate to your comment about being true relationship ready to meet a man you deserved rather than settling out of need. In the past I have definitely formed relationships based on need, but that is changing as I value myself more and more.
I completely agree Victoria. I had a good 5 years on my own working on me but in that time I loved being on my own and deepening my connection with my divine love. I knew deep down that I no longer wanted to settle or compromise for anything less than my love within and that love would come when I was love and open to love.
There is so much love here Johanna. Your love for yourself, your love and appreciation of your husband, your dedication and commitment to your relationship, and the love and care in the way that you relate and communicate. Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
I agree Rebecca, love is just oozing out of every choice in the relationship both with self and her Johanna’s husband. It is a gift to share it with us.
Agreed Rebecca and Lucy this is the gift that Love is when we choose to claim it for ourselves. As it can’t not be then shared with all, as the nature of Love is immeasurable, all-inclusive and all-encompassing as it emanates through our hearts for all to see and feel. What Johanna shares here is very inspiring indeed.
Thank you Rebecca for your very heartfelt expression.
It was beautiful to read how your relationship with your husband is now one of building love together. It really shows that hiding ourselves away from others really is not healthy. The love that we so crave comes from the love that we are and the love that we are can shine from others. Hiding ourselves away in the belief that harm comes from others is only confirmed when we have harmed ourselves first, we are all each others best reflections.
Well said Leigh. You have nailed it.
And to add- the love we crave is that love in us that we dearly miss because we are not making the choices to live that love in full for ourself first.
I know from the past, I would feel very lonely at times in a relationship. I was not honouring my love, was seeking it from another and when that didn’t get shared in the fullness- it was like a double whammy of a hurt. Feeling my own lack of self love and feeling another’s toward me in relationship.
Sometimes we cannot see the love that we are until it is reflected back through another. Once it is seen, are we then able to accept it OR is our chosen blindness there to mask the fact that we cannot handle being the stupendous love that we actually are?
It is indeed our ‘chosen’ blindness that masks what ultimately cannot be denied…
It sometimes even feels like we are running away from what we cannot run away as we are it.. love.
‘Sometimes we cannot see the love that we are until it is reflected back through another’. A power statement Liane that is so true. Until we develop a solid appreciation and knowing of ourselves, and then live it, it is there constantly being reflected to us through others, and often through nature, serving to remind us of the love that we are. Someone said to me recently ‘we are never not supported’, and I am starting to really see and feel this in my own life.
Yes well said Liane, which is why it is so important that we be and live the love that we are as when we stray, we are each reflecting and reminding and pulling each other up and back to love.
I am learning the great beauty that is is to be the mirror for another. To offer that clear, reflective surface I must take off my blindfold and accept my own love in full in all of its stupenduousness.
And if we were to accept this as the premise of relationships – how different would the state of our relationships be today!
Completely different and they would be true ! What a world that will be when there is love between all people.
Very true Liane, and thank God for those who are walking in full expression of the love we are to awake us from our blindness.
Amazingly well said Liane, for me it took for sure some to show me the love that I am for me to accept and embrace this love more with every step I take.
It can take a while to let the love and appreciation in and to feel and accept this for ourselves. When others around us hold a loving expression and consistency lived that we feel the reflection and truth for ourselves, as you say Liane. Such is the love Johanna and her husband share which is inspiring.
ah the chosen blindness! I know that one, and then play it dumb when I am appreciated and reminded of all that I am.
Something that I am currently quite aware of and an old pattern that is slowly, bit by bit being broken.
I recall talking to some colleagues one day and in one moment I saw them all looking at me adoringly. My blindfold had slipped down for that moment and I got to see my own reflection. In that moment I could not accept was I was feeling, but it sat with me for a long time, for my mask had actually fallen away. What I truly got to see was the ‘stupendous love’ that I am. I can feel the level of appreciation that is being shown by Johanna is allowing her husband to see more clearly the love that he also is. Such magnificent inspirations.
Thanks for your gesturing up sharing Jennifer. It brought a smile to my face as I read it.
Thanks for your beautiful sharing Jennifer. It brought a smile to my face as I read it.
When we hold each other in love, we hold ourselves equal to each other. Love is limitless and has no measure; it is we who try to measure love.
And that is an extraordinarily difficult and exhausting task. No wonder so many of us a tired!
Yes so many of us have become masters at measuring.
Yes love is limitless and has no measure and once we allow ourselves to live this once again our awareness expands exponentially and our relationships are lifted to another level – one that again is limitless.
Well said Liane. And if we succeed to measure our love, we live the measured life to our detriment and that of all others.
Your appreciation is deeply touching Johanna. I can feel how in expressing your appreciation it supports the love that you both are to flourish and evolve. So different from what can so often happen in relationships where if one starts to shine the other gets jealous or feels uncomfortable because their comfort is being challenged, which sadly usually results in comfort being restored as the other person drops back into the status quo. Feels awful, all the more so because I know I have done this to others and felt it from others. Appreciation + appreciation + appreciation = love and evolution.
I love your comment, Lucy, because it i so true. When jealousy sneaks in, there’s no room for love and both drop. You’re really good in math! Love your equation too!
Great to hear you have the relationship you do with your Husband Johanna. True partnerships are about evolving and expressing love. Things can be worked out when love is the foundation and the union of two people in love is a very beautiful thing.
This was absolutely gorgeous to read ?✨
Johanna, it is that willingness to constantly and consistently go deeper in any relationship that is key. Something that I know from personal experience can be quite daunting and challenging to the way I have been living. Beautiful to read that you have been able to build such a solid relationship with your husband.
Beautiful! The power of love and appreciation. Thank you Johanna.
It is deeply inspiring and I love the feeling of openness and honesty from your husband in your relationship, his relationship with himself and with others.
I agree Michael, Johanna’s husband rocks!
To appreciate a relationship as the first you have experienced this life, that is full of you and another and all the learning that comes with it is gold and absolutely beautiful. I can relate to the level of deepening intimacy, love, unfolding and companionship that I have with my partner too. There is something very sacred about a relationship with a man (for me as a woman) when I continue to deepen my acceptance and sacredness as a women. We continue to confirm and communicate with each other from a rock-solid foundation of love, respect and integrity and this leaves me in awe every single day.
Yes, Johanna, you are quite right, the key is to confirm ourselves. Whatever we confirm becomes solid, whatever we fail to confirm becomes more and more will o’ the wisp until it is suddenly gone and we have to work hard on feeling it again.
Indeed Christoph, unless we confirm the love fades. Conformation is much needed.
Confirmation and appreciation are key to loving relationships with ourselves and indeed others, otherwise are we not just bringing our hurts and reactions in to play?
Agree Christoph through appreciation we confirm the what is and build a solid foundation of the love we keep on confirming. Through confirmation everything grows and by confirming love we are living love.
I am beginning to see how KEY confirmation truly is.
Indeed this the rock bed that brings soundness to our being.
A quality that no trophy, no award, no medal comes anywhere close to.
So true. And what i also feel is super key – is that we give ourselves the space to truly stop, to surrender, to let go and be. . . feeling ourselves in our natural true way.
Just today Christoph I appreciated the solidness and divinity that is in my body as I walk and my eyes as I look. I walked in this confirming knowing today and it is very different to knowing it’s there and trying to get back to it, which I have also experienced. It is so important for us to absolutely say ‘yes this is me’ when we feel our true and natural selves.
Thank you Johanna for sharing your appreciation and love that you have for your husband. What I can clearly feel and take with me from your words and livingness is that when we make appreciation and love the focus in our lives that which still needs working on and growing from will heal. It is like the nurturing and caring that we give a sick patient to heal. Appreciation and love will heal all that that needs to be healed.
Johanna you have written an amazing testament of what a true loving relationship is.
The relationship you have developed with your husband is so beautiful to read as it is inspirational… and a marker for many of what is possible. How much you love and appreciate him is deeply felt and a testament to the love you have connected to and developed within yourself.
A beautiful sharing of your appreciation for your husband and how you are both open to continually deepening your relationship. I have never heard another talk about their partner in such a way. Very inspiring to feel your deep appreciation of yourself and your husband.
Your blog Johanna highlights how important appreciation is the key to any relationship. I love how you see and appreciate the qualities that your husband brings that he is yet to see in himself, and how this allows him to appreciate himself so much more. I know in the past that without appreciation I can so easily dismiss what another brings to the relationship and bring in my own demands of how I would like them to be, and how this doesn’t allow the relationship to blossom and grow.
You struck chord with me Alison. Appreciation is key in any relationship – with ourselves, our partners, friends, children…Focusing on the bad points is a very effective way to hold back love. But appreciation can be learned and with appreciation comes a greater ability to express love.
I absolutely agree Alison. Appreciation seems to lay a strong foundation that deepens when things are going well and is a holding when something needs to be looked at together or a disagreement comes up. Appreciation is key to remaining loving. An area all relationships benefit from.
Wow Alison that is so true what you share here: “I know in the past that without appreciation I can so easily dismiss what another brings to the relationship and bring in my own demands of how I would like them to be . . . ” Is it not so that most of us are doing this? And with doing so we ask ourselves why our relationships did not last? We have to be more honest about our own demands otherwise we get lost. Appreciation and honoring the partner is really a good medicine for unrealistic demands and desires.
Thank you, Joanna. The joy you share is easily felt, and shows that there is no limit to love once we open our hearts again. It is beautiful to feel that there are true relationships like yours in the world, and what a blessing this is for everyone around you.
Agreed Janet, it is so lovely to feel and see a relationship where the depth of love Johanna and her husband have is felt as you do not see many truly relationships out in the world.
Yes Joanna thank you for this heartfelt expression of love. It is indeed rare to meet or read about people who reflect true love. Your love for each other will inspire all those you come in contact with. Beautiful.
Wow Johanna, this is gorgeous to read, it is so beautiful to write this and show how much you appreciate and adore your husband, a wife writing a loving, adoring letter to her husband in this way is something that is rarely heard of or seen, often we hear the opposite, of how dissatisfied people are in their relationships, so this is a breath of fresh air. And how very lovely for him to be confirmed by you in this way. I feel much love and adoration of my partner but often do not express this, I feel very inspired by your article, thank you.
I agree, Rebecca, we so seldom hear a man or woman express true appreciation of their partner like Johanna has done, it is so beautiful. And it is not that either of them are perfect, but they are willing to really work together to make this partnership really work. How beautiful it is to read how they are each evolving, through this working with and supporting each other. And so supportive to other couples who see how it can be done.
Johanna, a beautiful testament and tribute both to your husband and you and your embracement of soul in your relationship together. Inspiring, thank you.
This is indeed inspiring. Appreciating oneself allows us to appreciate another. Being open and honest with yourself and your partner is the soil where love can real grow.
Johanna, a beautiful blog, appreciating your husband and all that he is. Seldom do we see, hear or feel others appreciate one another in this way. It has become the norm to joke about and belittle even our nearest and dearest, which puts a stop to further deepening or unfolding our true love and our true selves together. There is much to be shared with one another and this process never stops.
This is true. There is a lot of belittling at the expense of another just to gain a laugh or two. I always cringe when I feel this happening and usually say something if I feel to.
I agree, Jenny, I love how Johanna has expressed this huge appreciation of her husband, which we don’t very often hear like this. It is wonderful that they are sharing such a beautiful relationship, constantly working together on themselves, calling each other out as necessary I would imagine, to keep evolving their relationship and themselves. What a role model this relationship is for others to see how beautifully it can be lived.
Pure, unadulterated, unabridged appreciation. If we let it in, allow it in to every crook and crannies of our bodies, all the issues, dramas, tensions and judgements are swept away. The ultimate internal and external car-wash.
I love this Otto and am going to be making sure every nook and cranny is full of appreciation for myself, my family, friends, work and so many other things that happen in my day.
Yes, Sally and Otto, I’m in, deepening my appreciation, because there is an endless amazingness all around me and within me to keep appreciating.
Love a good super wash with a massive dose of appreciation:)
A relationship based on appreciation for self and another topped with forever growing love and deepening care for each other – the ultimate recipe for a loving relationship
I love this Otto. The ultimate car wash and the premium fuel for our car – 100% appreciation.
What a great way to express this, Otto, love it. But it is so true, we all need that super-wash regularly, need to get into all the nooks and crannies and wash them all out. And what is needed is a regular dose of appreciation, that will do the trick.
mmm. It’s the car wash we all love… sweeping away all the specks of self doubt and what we are not – confirming the beaming super car underneath.
I will do a car wash today!
Hi Otto, I love your words here. Obviously you have felt the power of appreciation to your core, both in yourself and your relationships. This is a very powerful though simple comment, and a testimony to someone speaking from their livingness as it just bounces off the page
Indeed Otto – if we truly let it in, it will be life changing.
Love the analogy Otto.
Love this Otto, what an awesome way of expressing it! Appreciation is amazing when we let it in as it has this way of allowing all the love we are on the inside out. The ultimate car wash indeed!!
Said in one Otto, appreciation just washes away the scars and opens hearts.
And no credit card required! Just appreciation and love.
a ‘love wash’
Love what you are saying here Otto. When we feel deep love and appreciation for ourselves we can inspire others to do the same. The most fertile soil for any relationship.
I absolutely love this Otto, after all, love is all there is.
a divine power wash we all deserve – indeed Otto this is a great visual to hold.
The Ultimate Car Wash of Appreciation. A must for every BODY.
Beautiful Otto a daily internal bath with the sweetest bath salts ever, called Living Joy!
Very beautiful Johanna your husband sounds like an amazing fella. I love someone that can admit that they are wrong and can grow and move on without being stuck in their ways. I also struggle with self appreciation but as we all know nobodies perfect.
I can relate to your struggle with self appreciation, Kev, it is ridiculous just how hard it can be to really appreciate yourself and how you have progressed in the journey of life. Then of course it follows on that acceptance of yourself as you are is the next hurdle. Slowly working on both these. How wonderful it is to see Johanna and her husband working on these aspects together, that is truly awesome.
This is true. No one is perfect and for me learning to let go that things or myself needs to be perfect has been a huge revelation.
When we admit that we are wrong and can grow from our mistakes without attachment, there has to be a bed of self appreciation there so we can get up and go again rather than brooding in self.
Great point Kev McHardy, when we expect ourselves to be perfect before we can appreciate ourselves, we will never get there….and that’s a long time : ). It does take a bit of practice, and I am really good at appreciating others, or things I have done, but to just appreciate me for being me – with all my imperfections – is one I’m working on as well. But when I do, I can feel it is really very much worth it; I am worth it. At the moment it helps me to work with joy, connecting with others, rather than allowing myself to pull back and go into self doubt. Through the connection the joy is confirmed and everything gets lifted. We all are an amazing support for each other; we just have to reach out.
Thank you for sharing Johanna, it looks like you are both deepening your relationship daily and working on it quite actively. When doing so, it feels amazing as we don’t get the other half to to do mind reading which can usually lead to more challenging time.
Absolutely, being stuck in a cycle of assuming the other person in the relationship knows what your thinking and feeling does not ever serve. It creates issues and problems that otherwise don’t have to be there.
So true Alexandre. It is about responsibility too. Taking responsibility for our own love and that which we share with each other.
To expect another to mind read feels like the ‘easy’ way out and an excuse for not saying what needs to be said, lovingly so. And then what seemed ‘easy’ can become very complicated and messy as it changes the relationship and the way two people relate with each other.
We do expect others to know what we are feeling, yet often fail to own the responsibility that we are constantly feeling everything and need to express this. Otherwise how do we honour our own beings?
That is beautiful Johanna, it is lovely, well truly awesome, when people open up and say yes to love unreservedly so. I am constantly blown away by the depths of love that we can go to, yet know I am only scratching the surface. To be able to do this with your husband is wonderful as well. I am also blessed to have a deeply loving, delicate and gorgeous sweet angelic wife who wants nothing but love as well.
It’s beautiful to hear and feel your level of appreciation for your wife and your relationship James. Thank you.
How beautiful Johanna – for me this morning in reading this I felt you shared what I feel to be an important ‘ingredient’ to any amazing relationship and that is “to not have an ounce of ‘resistance'”. This brings such an openness to share, support and finely tune within without creating walls to once again take down before getting to the underlying truth of any situation that has occurred previously or comes along. Appreciation of one another is also a relationship maker and cements strong foundations.
This feels very true Marion, ‘Appreciation of one another is also a relationship maker and cements strong foundations.’ I can feel that if there is not appreciation of each other and an issue arises then it is easy to blame each other and for things not to be resolved based on love, but that there can instead be a battle of who is right and who is wrong, so I can feel how important a strong foundation of appreciation is.
I totally agree Rebecca
Breaking down the resistance, building strong foundations and deeply appreciating each other. What a beautiful recipe for loving relationships.
What a super gorgeous blog Johanna, and what a super gorgeous husband you have. What an amazing reflection you are to each other. There is so much tenderness in your words, they are so inspiring as to what a truly loving, open and honest relationship can be when it based on a solid foundation of true love.
Thank you Sandra. We are learning from each other all the time and it is lovely to be part of. I feel that the foundations we establish together do ripple into all our other relationships.
‘What an amazing reflection you are to each other. ‘ – Well said Sandra, and what is more is that they are an amazing reflection for each and every one of us. True relationships are indeed a reflection the world needs more of.
Hi Shirley
This is so beautiful to share and true for all loving relationships including friendships. When the relationship is true it serves all equally and inspires others to feel inclusive and interconnected.
Thank you Sandra and Eva. What I have come to also learn is that I was not claiming the love that we have in our relationship fully and that which we were already reflecting. Through appreciating and celebrating the gorgeousness of us together and all we have come to I am constantly confirming the truth of the reflection we live and are with each other, also knowing it will forever deepen and is there to be forever worked on.
Yes l agree, it is deeply moving. This is a wonderful marker of a loving relationship for us all to appreciate and emulate.
A great reminder that in the end what we all want most is to love and be loved and when we truly present love to another in any relationship it is hard to resist.
This is so true. And a beautiful knowing for me to take to every relationship I have.
Very true Andrew, no matter who is standing in front of us, or who we are in relationship with.
I love this Lucy “no natter who is standing in front of us”… presenting love is indeed a game changer.
It is so true Andrew – ‘in the end what we all want most is to love and be loved’. As it seems that all that is in this world is a result of the love we feel and share or the love we have separated from and seek. We ultimately are at ease and most natural when feel free to Love ourselves and freely share this love with others. A great reminder without a doubt.
Well said – what Johanna is expressing here is something that money can’t buy and it is the most precious commodity on earth: to love and to be loved. Plain and simple.
Love is simple. Must be amazing to live this evolution of love with another every day.
I agree Monika Love is simple in itself but in our relationships we have a lot of complication, patterns and protection to let go of before we can get to this simplicity. My feeling is that this takes dedication, commitment and a willingness to understand each other.
So true Gabriele love is our true essence. It cant be bought or sold or made up, its who we are.
I agree that there is nothing greater on earth than Love – simple.
So true Deborah their is nothing greater on earth than love…..it is so powerful it can change thé world and it all starts with us.
Hear, hear Deborah, beautifully said and it is indeed simple, powerful and accessible.
That’s right Gabriele, so true. To me, Love is priceless, more precious than anything we try to obtain, most sought after and most powerful. We crave for it when we’ve misplace it and feel completely lost when this happens but love is always there, it never leaves us, it is within all of us to be connected to. We are all deeply precious and powerful.
True Kristy. The scream is very loud especially when we look at the extremes and extensiveness humanity go to in their actions to get attention and recognition. Many give all to be seen for these poor seconds compared to the love that is available. For me, this shows that humanity desperately craves love.
Beautifully said Andrew, ‘when we truly present love to another in any relationship it is hard to resist.’
Very true Andrew. When we bring all of our love to the table in all of our relationships nothing can stand in the way of that. Love wins all hands.
Well said Andrew. So simple and it can be applied to all our relationships.
Yes Andrew, and how awesome that we have been able to re-connect to what true love actually is, thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine’s truly loving support; that love is not pandering, nor being ‘nice’, nor ‘I do for you so you do for me’…..none of that. It is pure and asking ourselves and each other to simply live from the heart, allowing ourselves to feel what’s there, and to express that without holding back. Calling somebody up, when we feel they are holding back is truly loving, and when we have the basis of knowing who we are, we can appreciate that loving gift and grow as a person and in love.
I agree Andrew, what we all want in this world is to be loved and to love, to be love, and when love is presented it is irresistible.
This is so true Andrew. And I have found from observing people and myself that I have noticed we use our hurts to resist love. We crave for love the most in our lives, yet many of us choose to use our hurts to block what we truly want and who we truly are. So, by choosing to heal our hurts there can be no blockage, it simply allows love to flow and express in its full power.
It’s beautiful that in your appreciation of your husband you are appreciating yourself and your”..deepening committment to living and being the love that I am in full.”
Appreciation of the deepening love that you share with each other takes the love and appreciation to an ever deepening level. Love without end.
It is very inspiring for me to read about a relationship that is working on deepening love, consistently. Wow, it is so different to the relationships what is the norm these days. Johanna and her husband should be interviewed and on TV to share their experiences with the world.
Monika I agree. Lets have Johanna and her husband on the news and social media and on the cover of magazines inspiring all with the love that they share.
This is news the world needs to hear about and they are the shining STARS 🙂 🙂
It is so different Monika. The normal standard on relationships seems to be how often people fight- the less the better. But, to make a relationship based around how much love you both share is amazing. A beautiful contrast to the norm.
Mary that is beautiful appreciation of the deepening of love with each other takes it to a deeper level, love that never ends just deepens and blossoms.
I agree Mary. I definitely feel this. This depth and appreciation is also there to be had in all the relationships I have. Many years ago I did not know this was possible and it has been lovely experiencing it.
A beautiful comment Matts, ‘that between people there is only love, as a forever potential,’ it is up to us then if we embrace and confirm this love or allow problems to distract from this.
Gorgeous blog Johanna, and a powerfully message/reminder for me today, that our Soul is always calling us to be more love. Makes so much sense for the challenging relationship I have with someone at this moment where I sway from accepting and loving them where they are, to feeling rejected and then my heart closes. I am receiving much support to deepen my connection with my body and to ‘be more love’. Thankyou Johanna.
jacqmcfadden04 it is interesting how often those closest to us can trouble us the most! I have found that if I have any expectations of another or want things to be a certain way, inevitably they won’t be and then I will usually get frustrated and resent the person. Whereas when I see them for who they are, just perhaps not making the most loving choices I can stay detached, observe what is going on for them and reflect love. Otherwise I simply enjoin what they are in and they then have no reflection of love, so no pulling to come out of it and make more loving choices. After all who am I to judge as I know I have made some pretty bad choices!
Wise words James.. ‘Whereas when I see them for who they are, just perhaps not making the most loving choices I can stay detached, observe what is going on for them and reflect love.’
Spot on James, thanks for the reminder. Reflect Love.
James I certainly find I want those close to me to be a certain way-aka do for me what is my responsiblity, or not reflect choices I have or am making that aren’t loving but I don’t want to acknowledge.
When I accept and appreciate myself I accept them and appreciate them too. And, like you say, reflect love so they have an unimpeded choice to choose love if they so choose. And if they don’t I don’t love them or myself any less. Work in progress is this for me.
Karen, super point, when someone close to you does not choose love, that does not mean that I love them or myself any less….. yes, work in progress for me too, and even as I am writing this, I can feel that it is love and only love that can bring us home, and as James shared, all we have to do is keep reflecting love, so the other has that choice.
True James. And it’s interesting how our pictures and expectations of love can throw us out of our natural and observational state into one where we are no longer being or reflecting the love that we are, but investing in something else.
Spot on Kylie and James – holding a picture inevitably leads to it being smashed if not enormous investment to achieve it and maintain it. Being Love on the other hand is without effort, nourishes our whole being, creates spaciousness and has zero investment in an outcome.
Very true James, those expectations that we can have of others are a real killer. But the expectations are my own needs that I am not living myself. Super powerful (and a little ouchy) when they are reflected back and we don’t react and just feel it.
Jennifer that was and has been a valuable lesson for me, that all that is presented and reflected is not to crush me, but rather it is there to feel it all and NOT react…… observe and not absorb, and then Bring More Love.
It is only through developing a loving relationship with myself that I am less crushed by expectations – expectations that I have of others. Overtime, through loving myself and speaking more honestly, there is a space created where I can see and observe more what is happening and actually have understanding for what is occurring.
James I feel this too. Truly observing another can deepen the quality of the relationship: we see and feel more about the other. And when love is the only reflection we offer, they drop their defenses and open up. We walk together as equals.
Thank you James for your supporting words which are very useful to me right now. I can get very frustrated with my children and often react. Not having any attachment to where they choose to be will give me the opportunity to focus on where I am at, feel my love and reflect love to them instead of frustration and anger.
This is something that I have come to understand and appreciate as well James. These expectations that we place on another is already suffocating the relationship which allows no room for love. As you beautifully said being Love and allow others to be is the most loving thing we can do to reflect the Love that we are from and then they have to the option of coming back. In this you can’t judge as you say – everyone is on their own journey and that is the beauty of life.
Well said Natalie. I am realising that we actually place expectations on ourselves before we then place them on others. It feels even more awful to realise how restrictive and contracting such expectations are when we do place them on ourselves and others.
Absolutely James, there are so many games we play with our loved ones and it is easy to get caught up in the right and wrong game or the ‘but I want’ state of being. I am learning still everyday how easy we impose on one another and how this does not support the other to come out of whatever pattern or reaction they have gone into. Coming back to my own love and letting the other be exactly where they are while reflecting the way to go is what eventually will make for the most amazing relationships.
I agree James, it’s so supportive for me to remember that I actually really appreciate that person, and I appreciate the fact that they are in my life. If they reflect something I may not like, it feels absolutely awful if I then judge that and consequently enjoin, let myself drop. When I choose to reflect and express love instead, it helps us both to feel closer through this, rather than putting distance between us.
Heartfelt thankyou James, I just read your comment/response, it made so much sense and has put things into perspective for me, your words were deeply supportive, especially the reminder: After all who am I to judge as I know I have made some pretty bad choices! Once again thank-you!
‘ After all who am I to judge as I know I have made some pretty bad choices!’, there are times when we reflect love for others and there are times when we need the reflection of love. We are all in this together. Great comment James.
We are so all in this together. I love what you have written Lisa. We are all reflecting and receiving reflections and the more loving they are the more we all grow.
I love this too Vicky ‘We are all in this together.’ The more we give, the more there is to give and receive. I have an image of us walking side by side together as equals in all our relationships.
Hello James Nicholson and as you are saying, looking at the expectations and appreciate who they truly are. As Johanna Smith is speaking about in the blog, appreciation changes the ‘game’. So often we can get caught up in the ‘do this and do that’ without just simply seeing and appreciating there is a person in front of us.
Very true James, if I have expectations or pictures of how I want someone to be that can lead to problems, whereas, ‘when I see them for who they are, just perhaps not making the most loving choices I can stay detached, observe what is going on for them and reflect love.’ Wise words, only by reflecting love can another choose to be love also, ‘I simply enjoin what they are in and they then have no reflection of love, so no pulling to come out of it and make more loving choices.’
We can only start to make new choices if we have the awareness that we do have a choice in the first place, so well done James for recognising the fact that you DO have a choice and however many times you have made those bad choices it is never too late to change them. It is also very liberating to let go and allow other people to make their own choices, without any expectations from us as to how we would like outcomes to be, this empowers all of us to learn from our ‘mistakes’ because in reality they are not mistakes, just different choices.
This is very true James, I have the same, if I have any expectations of another or want things to be a certain way, inevitably they won’t be and I will usually get frustrated with the person; a learning for me at the moment is to love people no matter what their choices, I can feel how having expectations is damaging to relationships, it feels wonderful when I simply allow people to be and to love them.
Ģreat reminder james.
James we have to leave ourselves first in order to go into any kind of reaction with another. When we are adrift then we can literally end up anywhere.
James I love what you share: “After all who am I to judge as I know I have made some pretty bad choices!” I have to admit that I too had also made bad choices and therefore I do not want to throw the first stone so to speak. For me it was also a great healing as the people around me did not judge me for these kind of bad choices and instead stay steady loving me. That helped me enormous to be not so judgmental with myself – hence now I am not so judgmental with others as well.
It’s a big ‘ouch’ admitting we need things to be a certain way Michelle! Admitting hurts is another one and it’s a bit like untangling a ball of wool but the efforts are worth the results. A gorgeous and inspiring blog Johanna.
Untangling that ball of wool! So true Lorraine. Worth the results 🙂
I love what you share here James, and it is really spot on for me to read this now, ‘ Whereas when I see them for who they are, just perhaps not making the most loving choices I can stay detached, observe what is going on for them and reflect love.’ Thank you.
Yes when I impose my needs onto another I lose sight of the person and who they truly are as I’ve already done so with myself. We all lose out big time!
I have found this too Karin, when I am lost ALL is lost, so it is my responsibility to myself to not to lose myself in the first place… not always easy as there are still those niggling reactions that pop up now and then, but if I catch them and call them out for what they are, then I can bring myself back to me again and move on, and that way everyone else gets to move on with me, marvellous!
Indeed I am frequently reminded how my expectations of others and how the world should be is just a way of keeping people out. It just does not work especially as it pushes people away.
Beautiful words James. I can understand that- the people we are closer to we tend to have an idea on how they are meant to be and do. This would cause so many issues as you try and place them in a box that suits your needs.
I love the last line James “After all who am I to judge as I know I have made some pretty bad choices!” Understanding and seeing how we are all pretty much the same is the most amazing tool to be loving with ourselves and others.
Me too James, ‘After all who am I to judge as I know I have made some pretty bad choices!’ I can often get caught up in being high and mighty and almost looking down on anothers choices, but i have not always made the most loving choices myself and am by no means perfect in how I behave, it is great for me to remember this and be more understanding and to remain loving, rather than get frustrated and shut done when i feel someone is making an unloving choice and like you say James if we shut down there is no loving reflection there for another.
Great advice James, to not’ have expectations of another or want things to be a certain way”.
I know when I do and it doesn’t happen I get frustrated and angry and resent the other person.
I am now learning to come to an understanding of where others are at, and their choices reflecting this.
By not reacting or wanting something from them, I can accept and love them for who they are.
And yes, I agree- who am I to judge another when I too have make some pretty bad choices in the past.
I totally relate to this James. It’s also worth understanding that that person can transform and make new choices when they like and from what Johanna shared appreciation surely supports that whereas judgement can crush it.
This stemming from our need for us to be something rather than feeling and accepting ourselves for who we are, what we feel and where we are at. The more I work on this the less I need or expect of others.
Thank you Johanna very inspiring to read this beautiful blog appreciating you husband. I enjoyed so much seeing the photo of you two and couldn’t but look again and again at the love you share with another.
I agree Janinaelisa, don’t they look beautiful, truly an inspiration of how living in a loving relationship can be when you are willing to be honest and share living in love and joy together and express openly to each other.
I agree Janinaelisa. I just love reading people sharing the love they have for another. It is actually quite rare thing in this world for people to be so open about their love. More please.
Yes Vicky, it is a very rare thing for people to express their love so openly. It is more common for people to talk about sex than it is to talk about or show love. This blog is very refreshing.
I too Vicky love reading about people sharing their love for each other. It is indeed rare and blogs like this are very much needed in a society where divorce rates are increasing, showing us there is another way.
I also really enjoy how Johanna has shared her love and appreciation for her husband in such an honest and open way. It does not gush an emotional outpour yet a very deep honouring of what she appreciates about him. It is inspiring to hear another speak in such a way.
I love this too Vicky. But wonder why it is so rare for people to openly share ‘the love they have for another’. I know for me when I have held back from expressing how awesome someone is, is because I’m waiting for them to show themselves as fully perfect and trustworthy, before they receive my full appreciation. This is a wonderful insight as it is showing me some ideals and beliefs that I use as protection to avoid getting hurt. To express love in truth and in full you have to open your heart in full. I look forward to practising this more with this new awareness.
I agree, the photo was super beautiful.
It’s beautiful and truly amazing that this call never ends and always deepens.
Johanna you both are blessed for having each other to experience a true level of relationship, very inspiring.
As are we Monika, to see and feel others developing relationships and showing and sharing it openly helps and inspires me with my own relationships ????????
Appreciation is key!
Just awesome Johanna, a deeply touching blog you wrote with such felt love and appreciation, very inspiring to truly appreciate ones self and let this deepen within our self and all we are in relationship with.
Yes, I agree Johnanna, it feels really beautiful and very joyful that ‘our soul is always calling us to be more love’. Not because there is something wrong with us, but because love is what we are, love is who we are, and love is where we’re originally from. We are loved so much.
Yes, we are always being offered the opportunity to be more love, which first starts with love for self, which naturally leads to love with and for others.
this constant opportunity we have to be more love (a choice) always amazes me. it really never seem to end…
Agreed Alexandria, it’s amazing how much love can be shared and constantly deepened. It’s never ends… Or platos or stops.
Loving ourselves is loving everyone else.
Absolutely Oliver, a truth we forget when we make it about the other first.
Bingo Oliver that is exactly what True Love is and with this there is no need what so ever from anyone else simply enjoying each others fullness. Bring it on.
Neediness really doesn’t allow for love and if you get your needs met by another and think that’s love you’re missing out on something way more precious.
Naturally so. Without loving ourselves there’s no room to love another.
I agree Oliver, this is a revelation. And the livingness of this truth has started a revolution, thanks to Serge Benhayon.
True Angela, when we are loving with and towards our self, we cannot but be loving with and towards another.
I’ve discovered the most beautiful thing when it comes to relationships, be it with friends or a partner, that between people there is only love, as a forever potential, what comes in our way is us focusing on other things that just that. So when there is problems we focus on that instead of confirming the love that is already there awaiting.
I love what you share here Matts with “love is already there awaiting”. There is such an allowance and beholding in love, no room for judgement.
Beautifully expressed Matts, . . ‘ that between people there is only love, as a forever potential,’ I agree we often need reminding that this love is ‘already there awaiting’ when tensions arise in relationships.
It’s true what you share Matts, “that between people there is only love, as a forever potential.” We can get so hooked in the other things that aren’t that. By focusing on love and developing it, makes it a million times easier to work through the sticky stuff.
Rachel Love certainly does help us through the ‘sticky stuff’ and lets be honest that ‘sticky stuff’ can be rather ugly sometimes. When we remain open and allow the other person to be, bring some understanding of where they are coming from, reflect to where you are and what you are bringing then Love has a grand space to support you both to evolve on from what is not Love. Works every time!
I agree Rachel, when the focus is on love, we do not loose ourselves in the “sticky stuff”.
That is good point Matts, we can easily let ideals and beliefs come in about what a loving relationship has to look like when all the time love is there equally for all of us just waiting for us to choose
That’s so beautiful Matts, and it is, just a choice to re-connect to that love, or to choose to give power and focus on the ‘issue’. Interestingly when we are able to re-connect to the love that’s there, the ‘issue’, is just that… and it can get sorted easily, with understanding and truth, and no compromise needed. It really is simple.
How beautiful and freeing it is to realise that Love is there the whole time – there is never not Love between us as too, we are never not Love.
Why is it that we choose to express less than the Love we are and allow less than the Love we know between people?
How healing it is to live the love we are and to honour love in all relations with others.
A beautiful comment Matts, ‘that between people there is only love, as a forever potential,’ it is up to us then if we embrace and confirm this love or allow problems to distract from this.
So true Matts, we find it easier to find faults in another than to see the love that they truly are.
Wow Matts, ‘confirming the love that is already there awaiting’. Not waiting for it to show itself and prove itself as I have been known to do before I allow myself to appreciate it, but to confirm the love that is awaiting, in the knowing that love is ever present, within us and surrounding us and supporting us all of the time. Oh my goodness, how delicious is that.
What you share here Jacqueline is so powerful and I am inspired by your openness. These are the times (when the challenges come up in our relationships, when we are being pulled to be more love) that we need to ask for support, or simply allow ourselves to feel that its already there and we only need to let it in. I too am experiencing something challenging at present that is really just asking me to be more, and although I have struggled and resisted feeling all that I have to in order to do this, I have just now started to surrender and allow the support thats needed. I can also see how that support is always there, it is just me who at times chooses to not accept it.
It is a beautiful thing knowing there is more of me, and more love to be shared in surrendering to this part – knowing that once through,, there will be more asked, and then more, and then more and so on….. the never-ending expansion of love.
Anna, I love what you have written here. How loving and beautiful is it for us to feel that asking for support is a deeply loving thing for us to do. There is great strength in asking for support and knowing who can truly offer that support. When it is seen like this it can never come from feeling lesser, but equality in knowing who we are and what is needed next.
Anna, what I have begun to understand is that our Soul knows what is ahead of us, as in, our Soul knows what we will find challenging… thus the support is already in place, and I have also found that when I close my heart because it feels too painful I no longer have access to that support – whereas all I have to do is stay open, do not close my heart as I have done countless times before, keep my heart open is what I am being asked and as I do, the support that is there for me is unlimited… that is how much our Soul loves us.
I love what you say here above, the soul knows what we will find challenging …thus support is already in place. Its awesome to know we have all this awesome support, but I need to remind myself I must have an Open heart for the support to come through at those challenging times.
This is a great revelation jacqmcfadden04 – I love that you are open to exploring and accepting the soul – that perhaps what we think is not actually what is needed, and the soul is already 10 steps ahead. It is a great support for us to just allow and live in the moment rather than trying to control the future.
It is an illusion to think that we are on our own. Surrendering is all that is needed as indeed, the support is already there.
I love what you share here, Jacqueline, and it’s a great reminder that we are not looking for a perfect relationship with special someone – all relationships, all interactions are here for us to grow in our expression of who we truly are.
This really blows the lid on the ideals we are fed from young with their picture perfect fairy tale endings.
What a lot of pressure this places on another to be the hero or heroine, to live up to another expectation, fulfil a role and be without issues or tension. We have been fed a lie in looking for that ‘perfect relationship’ that keeps us from growing or recognising our patterns which prevents great learning of ourselves and others, for we become reduced to searching for an elusive picture which can never complete or fulfil us at the absolute expense of Love, our relationship with ourselves, ongoing learning and evolution.
Exactly Deborah, who needs fairy tales when one can choose to experience true loving relationships.
True Deborah – we have it all backwards which again shows that we have misinterpreted relationships so that there is always a tension and an imbalance.
But what I now know to be a true relationship is the complete opposite. That it should continue to deepen and develop, be equal, be allowing and honouring of each other – and that it starts with working on ourselves.
Whilst we seek outside of ourselves for the perfect relationship we fail to appreciate our own quality and what we already have.
So true Deborah and when we appreciate our qualities, we can then appreciate another and what they bring.