What makes up a successful relationship?~~(P.2)

What has helped me thus far? 001) Honesty but with tact. I dated someone who was honest--and there's a great deal a difference between "You are a dumbshit" and "I don't agree with you". To be honest, there are some opinion that probably shouldn't be shared. One opinion a partner shared with me was that he thought that my morals--sexually--were too relaxed (and that is putting it nicely) because I did have a sexual relationship with someone who was a friend but who I did not 'love' in the "I want to date you seriously" sort of way. At some paint, you have to be honest with yourself, if you have nothing but severe criticism about your partner, then maybe you should reconsider the relationship. 002) Communication with tact. I don't think there is anything my partner doesn't know about me. This probably makes us seem very boring because you assume that you get to know someone and then there is nothing interesting--but people grow, and when you grow together you can find many things you come to 'love' about people. I 'love' the way Dennis buttons his shirts in the morning before work. I also 'love' the way his feet move under the covers in the morning, the way his wallet chain hits his side when he walks and the way I can recognize it's sound even when I can't see him. 003) Attraction. People say this is very vain. You know I'm reading this novel Fortunate y Jacinta in which the former character, Fortunata, does marry someone she does not find physically attractive--if only souls were attracted to one another and it had nothing to do with the physical, and I am not going to feel ashamed for what I think is natural. Additionally, I feel that what people find attractive can change with age. Then again, I am the same person who has seen people in their seventies who I thought were quite good looking. I don't think we'll be in too much trouble here. 004) Similarities Or shared interests. Nothing sucks more to me than being with someone who could really give a damn about your interests. Dennis & I share some of the same musical interests (of course, we also have some HUGE differences), same sense of humour, and we have a lot to share with one another. Otherwise the conversations might get boring quickly. 005) Along those lines--the same values. See '001' . I want to be with someone who doesn't care that I have had other partners before, and who knows my stance on abortion (should I ever get pregnant), who wants the same things. I do in the future insofar as family & marriage are concerned. 006) An obvious one, commitment. This might sound weird, but for once I committed to committing. It is very easy to be excited and distracted by whatever (Or in this case, whoever) is new. I don't let myself get carried away, I exercise self control, but that doesn't mean that I am not honest about the fact that I do find myself attracted to other people. Attraction, however, hasn't always led to along lasting relationship. Honestly, I am attracted to a lot of people for different reasons, and I find them all to be incompatible with me. Like I said earlier, Dennis offers some balance in my life. The list goes on, I'm sure, but those are just a few I wanted to name off. That being said, I really have to go finish reading some chapters from the book I mentioned. For the record-- Song of songs 6:3 in Hebrew is engraved on my engagement ring that was finished this weekend & that Dennis brought home for me yesterday. "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine". ..............to be continued