this comes closest to my way of thinking. a woman is a man's equal in every way as he is hers. a man is not emasculated by female equality, it is a coward and a bully who needs to be in charge and boss others around in a personal sense

When you achieve this type of relationship, bet you have found your SOULMATE. This is the relationship we all seek & will relish till the day we die. EXPERIENCE

How right you are Don!

Mine too Sweetest...I echo you and Don, a solid relationship requires mutual respect, equal standing within the boundaries of the relationship, equal sharing of responsibilities and as Mo said, leading and following as the situation dictates..

IDK oldsage, you may be right. I wasn't trying to call anybody in particular a bully...it's not just men...anyone can be a bossy schtick. It's just that to me that is not the ideal partnership. But I think I see your point. Soulmates would have more sync and better communication (that does not require the issuing of edicts) :)

And when a woman has a big ...err... There is a reason why men lead.

As diverse are people are I wonder why we always feel it necessary to generalize what is best for all of a given group?

Excellent point...

like liberals, some people seem to think they need to tell others what to do...and how to do it

Good post Richard....You say you are studying the bible and you find Ephesians 5:28-33 "very" beautiful in that you agree with the concept of caring for a wife as you would care for yourself while at the same time questioning the concept of following biblical/religious instruction on marriage/relationship..Good for you!..IMHO, to study any religion and not question its teachings would be ludicrous...I would definitely view my partners "need" to follow relationship instruction as a form of added security or some sort of guarantee...Especially in a relationship or marriage where I was the only income earner...

The seat is always down unless necessary for a bit. One of the little things you can do to promote harmony.

As woman who has made the mistake of not looking before sitting once or twice I applaud you!

A real man knows when to lead and when to follow.

I heard a wise man say;
On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, "Son, I've made my life out of readin' people's faces,
And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when she's sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

Now Ev'ry gambler knows, that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

So when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when she's sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

"The Gambler"...Mr Kenny Rogers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn481KcjvMo

Hey Will!

Hey there, Beautiful.

My view is, I'm driving my own bus. If she wants to come along, she's welcome. But, I'm not giving her the wheel. If she doesn't like where I'm headed, I'll pull over and let her off anytime she says.

yes, it's amazing how quickly harmony can be breached when reactions to falling into the toilet at night wakes the culprit who also forgets to put the cap back on...