How to Determine if You are Ready to Settle Down

In a Society where divorce rates are at an all time high, more and more couples are opting not to make marriage their choice

"If it's not broken why fix it?" Is what many couples are saying today

Quite Frankly people are just plain terrified that once they enter a "legal commitment" unwanted pressure is placed on a love relationship

Marriage and Divorce
(Data for the U.S.)

* Number of marriages: 2,077,000
* Marriage rate: 6.8 per 1,000 total population
* Divorce rate: 3.4 per 1,000 population (44 reporting States and D.C.)

Source: Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2009, table A

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found. Such a union, often formalized via a wedding ceremony, may also be called matrimony.

People marry for many reasons, including one or more of the following: legal, social, emotional, economical, spiritual, and religious. These might include arranged marriages, family obligations, the legal establishment of a nuclear family unit, the legal protection of children and public declaration of commitment.[1][2]

The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved. In some societies these obligations also extend to certain family members of the married persons. Almost all cultures that recognize marriage also recognize adultery as a violation of the terms of marriage,[3] and forbid incestuous marriages.[4] In cultures that allow the dissolution of a marriage this is known as divorce.

Marriage is usually recognized by the state, a religious authority, or both. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution irrespective of religious affiliation, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction. If recognized by the state, by the religion(s) to which the parties belong or by society in general, the act of marriage changes the personal and social status of the individuals who enter into it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage

Many people now have 'Open Relationships'. It is amongst popular belief that this is the only way a "marriage can really survive" in this day and time.

Let's take a look at what Wikipedia has to say about an open relationship:

An open relationship is a relationship in which the people involved agree that they want to be together, but in which romantic or sexual relationships with additional people are accepted, permitted or tolerated. To large degree this is a generalization of the concept of open marriage beyond matrimonial relationships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_relationship

image credit: Do You Love - alltimelove

This is the kind of love that most relate to and this kind of love (the feeling kind) often fades in and out over time:
Love is the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment.[1] In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. In religious context, love is not just a virtue, but the basis for all being ("God is love"[2]), and the foundation for all divine law (Golden Rule).

The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my partner"). "Love" can also refer specifically to the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love, to the sexual love of eros (cf. Greek words for love), to the emotional closeness of familial love, or to the platonic love that defines friendship,[3] to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love. [4] This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.

Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.

image source: love is everywhere - salmahmk

Spiritual Love is the unconditional love that transcends beyond our human nature. I believe it is the love that last forever. Let's take a look at Spiritual Love Defined:

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails.

Read More Here

You know When You Are Ready to Settle Down When:


* You have learned the true meaning of "Self Love" and you are currently Loving Yourself

* You Are Responsible with Money, Bills, and Have are Making a Living for Yourself

* You Are Currently Happy with Your Life but Desire 1 Person to Share it With

* You Have the Desire to Build Your Legacy - You want a Permanent Home & a Family to Share it With

image source: Love is in the Air -perfectstranger