Why do I feel like my romantic relationship should complete me as a person?

This feeling runs deep in our culture—we've been sold a story that one person holds the missing piece of us. Mirabai knew something different. She loved fiercely, but her devotion wasn't about completion; it was about expansion. She examined her own heart first, independent of anyone else's gaze. When we expect a partner to fill an emptiness inside us, we're asking them to do work only we can do. That's not romance—that's a setup for disappointment on both sides. The real invitation? Get curious about what you actually need from yourself. Grieve what you've been promised but can't receive from another person. Then, when you choose partnership, it comes from wholeness meeting wholeness, not hunger meeting hunger. You might notice your relationships shift. Not because you love less, but because you're finally loving from a different ground. That's when real intimacy becomes possible—when both people show up as complete humans who choose each other, not need each other. Start small: notice one moment this week when you expected a partner or potential partner to validate something about you. What would change if you gave yourself that validation first?