| A gauge of the level of seriousness of a relationship.
The concept is borrowed from that of home-buying: the
more [money] you put into the house, the more equity
you have, that is, you own a greater percentage of the
property.
In the emotional sphere, the term gives substance to
the concept of having invested heavily in a
relationship; it gives coin to the idea of having put
out (spent) in an emotional sense - that feelings,
concern, tenderness and time are not free. In fact,
they have a definite cost.
As in the world of mortgages, the more equity you have
in a home the less willing you are to simply re-coup your
expenditure and return to status quo. You would like to
see some profit. In the world of relationships, a simple
cancelling of accounts, a return to the way things were
pre-relationship, is unsatisfying for the same reason:
investment wants return.
Another homeless waif recovered by The Nodeshell
Rescue Team | 
