successful relationships?!

The notion of successful relationships came up a while ago when a friend of mine said he didn't want another unsuccessful relationship, so he would prefer not to start dating again. It was very interesting to hear that, because I'm not sure what a successful relationship is supposed to be like! Is it marriage that validates a relationship?

I never thought a relationship should necessarily end in marriage... If someone's first relationship happens to be their one and only relationship, I just call it pure luck! It's very strange to me when people assume that a break up is a failure... of course it's hard and painful, but if during the course of that relationship the partners have learned from each other, then who can say it was not successful? If they felt the affection, and enjoyed their time together, then how could it be a failure?!

I don't think we can afford to miss out on all the great things we can learn from someone, just because that someone might not be the "one"! who's to say we'll ever meet the "one" anyway?

(disclaimer: I don't say that we should lower our standards and hook up randomly with anyone...you know what I mean!)