What will you give up

What are you prepared to give up to save our marriage? What are you prepared to give up to save the planet? What are you prepared to give up to save money? What are you prepared to give up to have peace of mind? What are you prepared to give up for the sake of our friendship? I wonder! If we are asking these sorts of questions, How often will a relationship be doomed to fail down the track? If we are asking these sorts of questions, Are we looking in the right direction? If we have to be asked, Do we need to do some soul searching for how we truly feel, About the relationship, And how important it is in our plans for the future? Perhaps modern expectations with no real life experience, And if we add the modern way to parent, Of telling our children they are so special, Does focus only on self become the reason, We take any criticism as personal affront, Refuse to listen, Take comments out of context, Unless we have a heart that rules our head, When these questions arise. I am sure rampant consumerism plays its part. But I am now tending to think that not having a bottom line, For what we will or will not accept, Plays a huge part. Good teachers have a bottom line, With a clearly understood bottom line that the students, Were made aware of from the start, Along with a set of consequences that, Could and would initiated in the event of a student, Pushing the boundaries past the bottom line, Which remains unchanged Except for exceptional circumstances. I remember a blue speeding ticket, With a message that I had twenty eight days, To pay or face consequences. I put the blue speeding ticket in the draw, Always intending to pay as you do, And as is often the case time slipped by, Then came the reminder notice, With, you guessed it, An equally clear message, Stating that I had twenty eight days to pay, I point is, We all tend to push the boundaries, And if the boundaries are moved to accommodate us, We or nearly all of us will push and keep pushing, Until one day the boundary becomes a brick wall. Appeasement can become a habit which is hard to break, And when one finally decides enough is enough, The relationship ends, With ill feeling, sadness and anger, Replacing Love, Respect and Common Sense, in most cases, And in extreme cases at least one person being scarred for life, Items trashed or smashed, Leaving even more rubbish to be dealt with by those who actually, See the planet as something to be cherished, Along with the people in it.