The Amazing Power Of Love - research indicates that women can bring better health to the men with whom they have a relationship -
..We have known it all along, whether we admit it or not. We know that women have a special effect on us, but what we probably didn't know is the extent of that effect--one that researchers are now calling a life-enhancing and possibly life-extending effect.
It's difficult for any man not to recognize the power of a woman. Time and time again, we have seen how she impacts the life of her man and other men she comes in contact with.
We know her strengths, her unparalleled resilience, her indominable spirit, her uncanny ability to do so many things at once--and do them well!
While recognizing and appreciating all of that, now comes news that sheds new and dramatic light on a woman's importance in a man's life, and if nothing else, it should make a man think about how he treats her, how he views her, how he appreciates her, and how he loves and respects the woman who is a positive, motivating force in his life.
According to a new study by sociologists at the University of Chicago, the presence of a woman in the household significantly contributes to better health for men. How significant, you might ask? As an example, the research indicates that if a wife works full-time, her husband's chances of being in good health plummet by more than 25 percent.
This is not to imply or suggest in any way that women should give up their individuality or their hopes and dreams to totally devote themselves to the care of the man in their life. The research simply points out that the time she's not around for him to lean on can have a tremendous effect on his well-being.
Traditionally, women are trained to take care of themselves and others.
Men are trained to tough it out, trying to convince everyone that they're Superman strong. But in reality, that big "S" isn't always on a Brother's chest when he's at home.
We all know that there are many men who can't function properly without the help of a woman.
For instance, when it comes to his health, many times she has to remind him to take his medication, encourage him to see a doctor about that nagging pain that won't go away and, in essence, she has to facilitate behavior that reduces his stress and promotes better health.
It is fitting during the month in which we observe Valentine's Day that a new and important focus has been placed on women, and more specifically, the benefits that men experience because of the amazing power of love. (But keep in mind that this is not a one-sided thing; conversely, a man's love for his woman yields a number of benefits to enhance her life as well.)
What the University of Chicago study' does, perhaps more than anything else, is to strongly support earlier findings that married men actually live longer, fuller lives than their bachelor counterparts--primarily, researchers say, because of the love and continuous support system that a wife can provide.
Some single men don't want to hear that and will dispute that, believing that they can get the same sense and degree of support from female companions even if they don't exchange wedding vows. But despite their convictions, the numbers indicate that marriage--a healthy, satisfying marriage--does add years to a man's life.
There are exceptions to the case, but whatever the dispute, the common denominator is the power of love, and how it affects a man's life.
There are all kinds of stories and examples that illustrate how a woman's love and devotion can dramatically change, even save, the life of a man who might have a tendency to participate in some things that can be self-defeating and self-destructive.
Quite frankly, there's nothing quite like the amazing power of love.
It's what Smokey Robinson and Ronald White wrote about and the Temptations sang about in one of 5 the great (if not the greatest) love songs of all time, "My Girl."
When you have sunshine on a cloudy day, that's the power of love! When it's cold outside, and you've got the month of May, that's the power of love! When you tell the woman in your life, or anybody else who will listen, that you don't need money, fortune or fame because you have all the riches (the relationship with her) one man can claim, that's the power of love!
It has long been said that "you're nobody 'til somebody loves you," and by the time that we become teenagers, it's likely that all of us have experienced at least some degree of the power of love.
We find out early that it will make you do things that you wouldn't normally do.
We realize that it will make you say things that you wouldn't normally say.
And we know that it will make you feel things that you wouldn't normally feel.
When it comes to matters of the heart, there is so much that defies explanation and understanding.
But if you're fortunate enough to find love, then you have to nurture that love, shape love, respect love and give love, and in the end you can enjoy the benefits of love.
