If a partner can bring up the topic of monamory into a polyamorous relationship, then a partner can bring up polyamory in a monamorous relationship. Just saying. I feel like virtually no topic should be off-limits or taboo, in any good relationship.
There are no ethical or moral issues with polyamory or monamory themselves. The ethical issues lie within how the relationships themselves are constructed and maintained by the people involved.
I have to admit I was never big on the idea of dating or loving more than one person at a time. I always thought of it as cheating, "sanctioned cheating." And back then, my definition of cheating was really narrow.
But the past few years of meeting and getting to know different people and learning about new perspectives has opened me up to a lot of things, polyamory being one of them. It is not cheating. It is not inherently selfish. It requires a lot of honesty, thoughtfulness, and communication between partners and non-partners, whether it be direct.
I've become much more open-minded to the possibilities of non-monamorous relationships. Not saying I would definitely jump into anything; but I won't knock something if I haven't tried it.
People are constantly getting into arguments about whether people should be mono or poly and how to do so properly. I think these arguments can be healthy, but most of the time they're just vitriolic and full of shaming. Everyone has their own idea of how love should work. Except love rarely works how we think it should. And we learn this through experience.
Most people, who have been in relationships, have been in monamorous ones. Fewer people have been in poly. It's safe to say the number of successful poly relationships is smaller than successful mono relationships, and it's not because poly can't work. Every "failed" relationship ends for different reasons.
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I don't remember the purpose of this post haha...
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Personally, I have no strong feelings about poly relationships. I've learned to see them as I see any other relationship. Like, some folks only have one best friend, and others have multiple best friends. Sometimes, the multiple best friends are best friends with each other. Other times, they're not; they might be non-best friends with each other, or they might not have ever met each other. I generally don't love any of my friends less than I love others; I might just love them a little differently and share different parts of me with them.
I imagine poly relationships work similarly. But every relationship is unique, despite how much it may resemble another relationship.
I find myself, as I have for most of my life, to be more inclined toward monamorous relationships. It's difficult for me to be interested in more than one person at a time. Except it has happened. This past year. As I noted in another post. So it's not unfathomable to me anymore. I think I'm honestly open to the idea. Would I actively pursue it? Probably not. But I wouldn't shut it down without giving it any thought. But it would also depend on the person(s) I'm interested in.
If I did attempt to participate in a poly relationship, it wouldn't necessarily mean that I would always want a poly relationship. Nor would it mean that I would never want one again if that relationship failed. It really just depends. On a bunch of variables: the people involved, the timing, our schedules, our mindsets, our values, our communication skills, etc. The circumstances are always going to be different and always changing, even within any given relationship.
That is also why I think it's bullshit when someone blames their partner for "changing the relationship" or "changing the rules." People change. Beliefs and values change. Relationships should adapt to accommodate whatever changes can be accommodated. That's why we should always communicate openly and honestly. When somethings comes up, we should work with our partners to address the issue and try to resolve it. Otherwise, the relationship won't get very far.
And any relationship that doesn't change, grow, and adapt over time could (but not necessarily) become stagnant.
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Lost my train of thought again...
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I think this extremely simplified version of my every-changing life philosophy pretty much applies to how I want to approach relationships (and everything else in my life):
Do you; find or make your own happiness.
Follow the Golden Rule; making your own happiness shouldn't damage other people.
If you do damage, hold yourself accountable.
Give without expectations of return; I like to be pleasantly surprised.
Fight for a resolution not a victory.
Love how and whom you love; don't regret love.
Whether I do these in a monamorous or polyamorous relationship, I hope the people in my life can understand where I'm coming from and support me.
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This post is not what I initially intended. But I really don't remember where I was taking this. I suppose I'm just trying to be open-minded, and I hope I meet people who are just as open-minded and willing to learn and explore. At least open to discussions. I want to at least talk about it, even if I'm not seriously considering it.
I'm big on the whole "anything can happen" perspective. I don't want to limit anything just because I'm unfamiliar. I'll discover my limits as they appear rather than setting them before anything can happen. Of course, I say this, but who knows if I can practice what I preach? Haha :P
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