13 Tips for a Meaningful Companionship
There are many different kinds of love that you can have with a romantic partner. One of the deepest types of commitment and trust will be exhibited in a relationship based on companionship. But what is companionship, really?
We’re going to take a look at what a partnership based on companionship looks like and some tips you can use to strengthen your current relationship.
What is Companionship? Unpacking Companionate Love
Love comes in many different forms. The Greek recognized this fact by distinguishing different kinds of love with different words, such as philia (deep friendship), agape (universal love for others), and ludus (playful love).
Psychologists have come up with the word “companionate” love to refer to love based more on intimacy and affection, rather than arousal. This is not one-night stand love, which is considered passionate love. This is a love that relies on trust and commitment. You love the other for who they are and can let your guard down around them.
Dating Vs Relationship
While different people use these words to mean different things, but the term “relationship” generally has a higher level of commitment attached to it than dating. While in the dating stage, it’s common for people to “date” other people, as they haven’t settled down and committed to one person yet.
However, you can still be in a relationship and date other people if you choose to love polyamorously.
But for people who are monogamous, a relationship generally seems more “official” and exclusive than dating. You’ve become partners and will support each other in more ways than fulfilling romantic needs.
Companionship can truly begin when you move beyond the role of simply being a romantic interest. Companions support each other in times of sorrow, when they get overwhelmed, and when they experience grief.
They also support each other in mundane tasks; you generally won’t do the dishes for someone you’re dating, but living in a companionship means splitting chores and to-do lists. You’re building a life together beyond just love. You become each other’s home.
Companionship Tips to Improve Your Partnership
Do you want to take your partnership to the level of companionate love? Here are some tips to improve your relationship’s companionship.
- Ask what your partner’s needs are and follow through.
- Learn their love language to determine how you can best express your love.
- Support and encourage them as they follow their dreams.
- When you can, do more than your fair share. There will be a time when you need them to pick up your slack as well.
- Have the mindset that it’s you two versus the problem, not you versus your partner.
- Engage in their interests. Learning more about their passions will help you better understand them. If it becomes a common interest, you’ll have even more to bond over.
- Continue to date them. Even if you’re in a committed relationship, you still need to have the mindset that you are pursuing them and winning them over.
- Be gentle with them when they need grace, and push them when they need motivation.
- Trust them enough to rely on them when you need help.
- Set aside time for romance. While companionship emphasizes partnership and working together, you need to feed all elements of the relationship.
- Discuss future plans. Make sure your visions align and make plans for how you can build your lives together.
- Understand their past. If you understand what their past experiences are, you can better understand how they have shaped who your partner is.
- Have a life outside each other. Do not let your relationship define who you are.
Every relationship looks different, so some of these tips will resonate more than others. What tips do you have to improve a sweet companionship?
Author, Artist, Photographer.
Sarah Margaret is an artist who expresses her love for feminism, equality, and justice through a variety of mediums: photography, filmmaking, poetry, illustration, song, acting, and of course, writing.
She owns Still Poetry Photography, a company that showcases her passion for capturing poetic moments in time. Instead of poetry in motion, she captures visual poetry in fractions of a second, making cherished keepsakes of unforgettable moments.
She is the artist behind the Still Poetry Etsy shop, which houses her illustrations and bespoke, handmade items. She is the author of intricacies are just cracks in the wall, a narrative poetry anthology that follows a young woman discovering herself as she emerges from an abusive relationship.
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