Ordinary human love is always relative, never consistently absolute. Like the weather, relative love is in continual dynamic flux. It is forever rising and subsiding, waxing and waning, changing shape and intensity…thus…relationships continually oscillate between finding common ground and having that ground slip as their differences pull them in different directions…being tossed by shifting tides of memories, expectations, and wounds from the past. The oscillation between lovers…the ups and downs, is only a problem when and if we expect it to be otherwise, when we imagine that love and the emotions associated with feeling loved should manifest itself as a linear straight steady state. That kind of expectation prevents us from appreciating the special gift that relative love does have to offer: Personal intimacy and the sharing of who we are in our distinctiveness.

This particular quote implies and, I agree, that "false expectations about the nature of love are the potential enemy of being content in our relationships. While I don't want to suggest or imply that one tolerate any kind of abuse or being treated poorly I also do believe, as this quote suggests, that our limitations and the ghosts of our pasts do come into play and prevent all relationships from achieving the mythical status of "living happily after ever". The sooner we realize and accept this reality the better our chances will be from becoming disillusioned with our relationships.