What would you do? (marital 'infidelity'?)

[GliderGuider]

110. The Buddhists are right about the need for compassion.

I've learned over the years that everyone I meet is carrying a burden, has a story they keep hidden, or lives outside the social lines in one way or another.

In the last 40 years I've been in all kinds of relationships - an open marriage to a paraplegic, a 20-year traditional marriage, a 7-year common-law marriage, a classic long-term affair, a polyamorous triad, and now finally a fully realized twin-flame union with a woman I first met at the very beginning, back 40 years ago.

It's not the sort of relationship trajectory that our society holds up as the ideal (!) but it's the one I wanted and perhaps needed in order to learn lessons about judgement, autonomy, compassion and the more shadowed sides of human nature. The times I regret were the ones where I wasn't honest, but even those taught me lessons about self-respect, respect for others, and compassion.

We each choose the path we will walk through life, and how we will respond to the curves and knuckleballs, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The more consciously we make our choices, the better the outcome will be. You've found that out, as have others on this thread. For many the lessons are still waiting patiently.