From Babel to Belonging

The art of loving — even when love changes shape.

During a conversation, someone mentioned the Tower of Babel,

and I found myself thinking of what I often witness as a mediator —

between partners who are separating.

There are similarities: words that confuse,

and a tower that no longer leads anywhere.

Sometimes love makes us build together.

But sometimes, it asks us to unbuild —

not to destroy, but gently,

to understand what still wants to live underneath the ruins.

That, too, is part of the art of loving —

and the art of living.

Once, they — two partners — spoke the same language.

Once, they built together, layer upon layer —

a tower of dreams, plans, children, habits.

They understood each other.

But somewhere along the way, their words began to blur.

Listening turned into defending.

Understanding shifted into fighting — or silence.

And so the tower of us

became a tower of stone.

A structure between them,

no longer of them.

Yet even then — not all is lost.

There is always the possibility

to listen again.

To slow down enough

to untangle the words,

to rediscover the human being

behind the sentences, the tone, the silence.

Because connection is not about agreeing.

It’s about remembering what lives underneath the noise:

the longing to be seen, to be heard, to belong.

When partners learn to listen again —

not to win or convince,

but to understand —

something shifts.

And then, from the rubble of Babel,

something new can rise.

Not the same tower —

but perhaps a bridge.

A bridge that allows them to walk forward,

separately yet still connected,

as co-parents,

as humans who once loved

and choose respect as their legacy.

That, too,

is an art of loving.

That, too,

is Love in Action.

#consciousuncoupling #mediation #parentsdontsplit #theartofloving #belonging #loveinaction

Written by Maaike — family mediator, writer, and believer in love as the language we all belong to.