LOVE, Kloudiia

I asked many couples what are some of the secrets responsible for their loving relationship. Among the many answers I’ve gotten, one thing just seem to pop up unanimously. Yes, this is what I’m going to expound on in this entry – it’s all about Sharing Experiences Together.

When asked to recall some text that you had recently read or even committed to memory, it may take a tad more time for us to recapitulate. But, what if I asked you to describe the last time you went on a holiday with your family, or friends, or your loved ones, now tell me how much time you took to load them up and start your story-telling session? 3 seconds? Or maybe just 1 second?

You see, when we as a family do things together, when we build and share a common interest like playing some kind of sports (could be tennis, badminton, swimming, fishing, hiking or even camping) or some indoor hobbies like art and craft or fun cooking, we are in actual fact creating more intimacy between each of us in relation to our activity partners. In Singapore, we do not have as many choices as we like to venture outdoors. Probably the only activities we could do are relegated to basic sports, land and sea. Unlike in US or even Europe, camping is an excellent way of fostering stronger bond and ties for a family, when everyone is out there, face to face skin to skin next to nature and family. Hiking is very popular too in Hong Kong (where I used to live) due to the abundant mountain treks available. In comparison, I guess the only place where we could have some decent hiking would be our one and only infamous Bukit Timah Hill, and joining the ranks would probably be Pulau Ubin island.

Photographs taken during those trips capture not only the scenery of the places you visited, they also freeze your emotions and images of happiness, ecstasy, excitement etc at that particular moment, there and then. These images make it so much easier when you sit around and start sharing and reliving those happy moments again. Of course, videograhy is even more powerful, because it makes everyone sit down in front of the TV and laugh at each other’s comical actions, thereby bringing you back to that holiday mood – the mood for love.

Sharing experiences together do not necessarily mean you have to remove yourselves physically away from home and work, it can happen anywhere, even in domestic settings. Fixing up a furniture for example, piecing a super size mega jigsaw puzzle all contribute by bits and pieces to the crediting of assets into your memory bank.

If you feel that both you and your partner have been getting uptight over your work, feeling stressed out and the tension is creeping into your relationship, then, wait no longer, go for a short trip, or just let go of all work stuff and head off to immerse yourselves in one common hobby or activity which you guys really enjoy.

Laugh together, have fun together, de-stress together, and fall in love again together.

P.S This is not an exhaustive post. Take it as an introduction, as I’ll be talking really much more about it in my upcoming book!