Expecting too much from one?

To be honest I am afraid of commitment. Life long commitment.

Yes I am referring to a romantic relationship/marriage.

Yes, my therapist knows about this.

Why?

Probably because of the not-so-reassuring statistics on divorce. Because I see so many relationships fail.

I am an optimist but this is a tougher issue for me to be bright and optimistic about.

Can anyone relate?

Reflecting upon this dilemma today I realized two important things:

1) it is not who you marry but how well you work on conflict and differences over the long haul.

2) we, as a culture, may be expecting too much from one person, one relationship.

Remember the days when people lived within tribes? 

Or villages

Or neighborhoods with porches and outdoor card games and lemonade stands?

I don't because I haven't been around that long, but I know from Sociology 101 that humans (like lions, dogs and other species) are happier and healthier when encircled by the warmth of a community.

Given the fact that today many people live hundreds miles from their immediate family and/or do not speak to their families and/or live in a quiet apartment building or development where more interactions with a human occur through digital media than face-to-face around a fire or dinner table...

we may be expecting one person to meet the many needs that a large family or village used to meet (companionship, understanding, stimulation, financial support, etc.). Is that fair? 

So how could we do things differently? 

Do we need to change the fairytale romance story we tell our children?

Do we need to restructure society?

I don't have an answer, but I will continue to pose the question,

Are we expecting too much from one?