None of this is a problem of course if both partners feel the same resistance to marriage. Research by the Marriage Foundation in the UK last year, suggested a sharp decline in young people getting married. Compared to the baby boomer generation where 92 per cent of women and 82 per cent of man married at some point, subsequent generations are facing a sharp decline in marriage rates.
The greatest decline has apparently taken place amongst those currently in their 20s and the statistical prediction is that only 52 per cent of men and 53 per cent of women in this generation will ever marry.
So in a culture like ours, which has same sex marriage, cross cultural marriage, interfaith marriage, liberal divorce laws - and human rights laws which frame the rights of all individuals - why is there a stepping back from marriage?
Research blames the declining figures on cohabitation, celebrity divorces and the global financial crisis which has created a legacy of debt. And specific concerns about dealing with the social, legal, emotional and economic consequences of a possible divorce certainly find their way into the cloud of doubt.
Yet under the Relationship Property Act, couples in NZ are financially "married" under the law if they don't contract out within a specific time period. So there is not escaping the financial questions, which encapsulate commitment.
So Does Doubt mean Don't?
A question I often hear is: "What if this is not anxiety but instinct telling me to get out?"
And of course there's lots of folk wisdom to feed the fear - "look before you leap" "marry in haste; repent at leisure". Doubt is a niggling, strong and obstructive feeling. It is a ringmaster of excuses and indecision and anxiety courting sleepless nights, anxiety and guilty feelings. And yes, in some instances doubt might well spell don't. And integrity would suggest that we owe it to our partner and to ourselves,to be upfront about the need to explore our fundamental level of commitment.
But what else might be going on here?
It seems that one of the real architects of doubt is fear. Or put another way, fear will masquerade as doubt. Is this the right person? Do I want to be committed?
Change is always about loss and it is the fear of this loss that seems to play a significant part in the lives of people who love each other but where one of the partners fears the commitment of marriage.
This fear is often fuelled by experiences of parental divorce, difficult divorces of friends, fear of joining up financially, fear of an expensive wedding, fear of expectations. and a fear of a change in identity. Will I still feel like me? Will we still love each other in the future? What if my partner cheats on me or I fall in love with someone else?
Fundamentally a fear of changed circumstances - yet aren't changing circumstances in fact a definition of life itself?
But there we have it - the perfect menu of anxious ruminating thought patterns, which can threaten healthy and happy relationships with doubts.
Gut anxiety or fear gone awry?
If you enjoy a happy and healthy relationship with a loving and honest partner with whom you share values and a special connection - and you are feeling doubt about the marriage your partner wants - then you are probably not experiencing gut instinct, but fear gone awry.
No rules say you have to marry to be happy. But wisdom suggests that if it means a lot to the person you love, then allowing 'doubt' to be translated into 'don't' might avoid a fear of commitment, but might just as easily usher in heartache.
So if the arrival of another wedding invitation fills you with fear about the next conversation you have with your partner, it is possibly the very best time to do some exploratory work with an experienced facilitator, about just what it is that is actually fuelling your ambivalence.
- nzherald.co.nz
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