I was having this conversation with this woman the other day. We’ve kind of known each other from a far for a lot of years. …Passed ways via various circumstances. But, that’s all in the world of whatever…
 
She was telling me about how she had been in a relationship with her, “Partner,” as she called him, for over thirty years. I asked why they never got married. “Can’t do that,” she said. “Then I will lose my alimony.”
 
As it turns out, she has been getting paid alimony for over forty years. Wow! That really threw me.
 
Had I known her better, maybe, I would have pursued that level of conversation a little bit deeper. But, I thought, it would probably hit a nerve. I mean, the woman was married for only three years. She’s been divorced for over forty, yet her former husband has to pay her an ever-evolving sum of money forever. How is that right?
 
Now, I mentioned this in the past, I have a female family member who has to pay her X palimony forever, as well. At least until he either gets remarried or dies. I mean, the moment I heard that, I lost all respect for the dude. BE A MAN! Every time she gets a raise at her job, he gets a raise. How bullshit is that!
 
Clearly, I’m no fan of alimony or palimony.
 
I mean, how long must you pay for a relationship going bad. And, even more importantly, what is the karma in all of that if you are taking money from someone but providing no service? Not good.
 
The woman I was speaking to has transversed most of her life getting paid just because her early-life relationship went bad. She very consciously knows what she is doing—obviously… She has lived a good and is living a good life. What about the man who is paying her bills?
 
For most of us, when we are young, we are in a relationship or two that goes south. But, think about it, what if you had to pay that other person money, just because it didn’t work out, forever.
 
You know, there’s a lot of people who take a lot of money from other people while providing no real service or benefit. You see it all time. Each of those people, I’m sure, has a justification for doing what they are doing. But, that is all it is, a justification—believing, (I guess), that they are somehow owed. But, owed for what, choosing the wrong person to be in a relationship with? That’s your fault.
 
Some people, obviously, like the woman I was speaking with, get away with it forever. Maybe they even live a pretty good life. You look for the karma, but you see none. But, it’s there. It has to be. Maybe not today, but tomorrow.
 
A lot of these people hide the fact about what they’re doing—what they’re taking. Some even go on to have really good careers. But, at the essence of their being, there is truly something missing. A truly good person would not do what they are doing. You should really steer clear of people like that.
 
All this is just something to think about as you pass through your life. What are you taking? Who are you taking it from? What are you giving and/or providing in return? If you are not providing anything, (truly), what do you think will be the ultimate outcome of your life? Taking, without giving, is always a dark road.
 
If you are taking, stop lying to yourself. Stop being a taker. Be more than that. Make your own way through your life. Giving is always better than taking.