11/365 Choose Character Over Chemistry

THE QUOTE

In marriage do thou be wise:
Prefer the person before money, 

virtue before beauty, 

the mind before body;
then thou hast a wife, 

a friend, 

a companion,
a second self.
—William Penn, Fruits of Solitude

THE LOVE NOTE
K—
Well, neither of us married for money. As I remember it, I won you over with just myself and a beat up Honda Aero 80cc scooter as my greatest material possession. While you do have the beauty and the body (woo hoo!) it is truly your virtue and mind that I am most attracted to and most impressed with. I cannot imagine a better nor truer companion to spend my life with.
—J

THE GREAT RELATIONSHIP PRINCIPLE
Choose character over chemistry. The "spark", chemistry, and feeling of love are grand and I'm all for it. However, too many relationships are based too much on those transient variables while the lacking character traits are minimized, glossed-over or ignored. In time, beauty fades for every single one of us. Chemistry comes and goes. Emotions shift like the wind. Character alone remains through thick and thin, joy and sorrow, hardship and ease.