One of the things I've written about, is how in a healthy relationship, each partner should want the other to reach for their potential and be the best that they can be. If they love you, they won't want to limit you. They will want you to have successes in life, and when you have them, they'll be happy for you, rather than jealous or intimidated. A relationship should bring out the best in both people. And when the best comes out, each partner will respect it and be happy for it.

Now at the end of the retrograde, which also forces people to reflect on the past, I'm thinking about compromises. Where you should compromise (agreements that make sharing a life more positive and comfortable for both partners), and where you shouldn't compromise (giving up things you want and need in order to feel like yourself, evolve towards a more truthful, higher version of yourself, and the things you need to feel safe, positive and complete. You should never give up anything that compromises your self-respect).

I've only been in one relationship where my partner pushed me to be the best that I can be and was always happy for all my successes, and that's why I always regard it as my best relationship so far. It was also my longest relationship, and the only reason we're not still together is because I needed someone who had a better practical ability to take care of himself and a future family financially, but the bigger issue, he didn't set my loins on fire. Without sexual chemistry and attraction to begin with, it's very hard to sustain a relationship. I know because I read a lot of relationship psychology books at that time to find a loophole and there just isn't a way around it. He was my best friend, my buddy, a guy happiest in the role as my sidekick. As Brian would say, "You guys would pal around and complete each other's silliness, but then, you would start thinking about adult responsibilities and you couldn't see him as the one you could depend on in the long run." I would push him out to take control of his own dreams and career, and it just put a lot of pressure between us. He tried though, but at the end of the day, I don't want a guy who's struggling to fit what I need; it shouldn't be that way. I want him to feel comfortable being himself, that who he is, is enough for me. As for my ex, for another girl, he will be. He's a wonderful man who will have a beautiful life with a very nice girl. But he's just not mine.

The relationship was a very supportive, happy and positive one, but it wouldn't have worked out, unless I compromised on some things that were important to me. And I still regard him highly as a person (he was loyal, he was kind, he loved my family and brother as his own, his family loved me as their own, he was always there when I needed him even if he didn't understand half of the existential crises that would take hold of me, and he was a man of infinite sweetness--the number of times he would have to go out of his way to bring my lunch to my office because 5 out of 10 mornings, I would leave it sitting by the front door in my rush to work..but he always did it happily because he regarded it as another chance to see me; the time i went on a business trip to atlanta and cried on the phone when I found out a friend's mother had passed away, and he called the hotel and ordered milk and cookies to be sent to my room). In many ways, he set the bar for how a kind man who loves a woman should treat her. But in one of the saddest lessons I've learned thus far, things can be wonderful, but still not right. I could have probably stayed in that relationship for a couple of more years. But the same valid doubts would have still been there. And eventually, you can't really have kids if you don't want to have sex. So...as it goes...life goes on. One day, when we both have families of our own and time under the bridge, we might still be friends again. We're good at pushing each other towards our dreams, and we're happy to celebrate each other's successes.

I know what it means to have a supportive partner, because I've had it. I also know what it means to have a partner who can tell you he loves you, but not be happy for you to succeed. You just have to recognize the signs and the language. I've had a guy tell me to "get off your high horse," when I tried to lay out in a cause-effect timeline where our communication was going awry, giving both of us the responsibility in an effort to make things better (he always resented my intelligence and my ability to communicate). I've collaborated on projects with guys, and would later, overhear them claiming they did it themselves. Even guys I wasn't in a relationship with, it ranges from reminding me that my biological clock is ticking (doesn't work...I can accept a future without children...I'm not going to allow a desire to have children force myself into a bad choice), subtle ways of reminding me that I'm not that special or great but luckily they think I am (says a lot about them), or lamenting that it's like I'm on another level and resenting it, so the choice is, either meet them on their level or they're not interested (see ya).

These guys can go. In so many ways, how a person treats you, someone they want next to them, will tell you everything you need to know about what they think of themselves. And if they can meet a great person who is always pursuing her potential, always trying to be the best person she can be not to be better than other people, but to be the best version of herself which would benefit everyone around her, and they can want to tear her down because it makes them feel bad about themselves, then these guys are no prizes. You want someone who strives to be the best person he or she can be, and knows there's room for everyone to have their personal successes, especially the ones they love most. That when they see you trying to be the most you can be, it makes them happy, because it makes them proud of you, it makes them love you more, it inspires them, and it makes them feel lucky. But it should never make them feel that for their own peace of mind, they have to take it away from you, to bring you down.

Be aware of this dynamic. It happens all the time. The easiest way to tell is whether you feel you are the best version of yourself in the relationship, or that you are being supported towards that. If you feel in any way that your partner is not happy for or is limiting your growth towards positive expansion, then it may be time to take a closer look at the dynamics of your relationship. If you have a partner who supports and applauds the best version of you, then consider yourself very lucky-- you already have what many people want. The rest, is in the chemistry and destiny.