Marriage is an institution they say. Now institution is a place of learning and higher enlightenment. Institution is where the values and the beliefs are instituted into your system. If this is the definition of institution then marriage by definition is where you learn a thousand things and your beliefs are cemented.

Marriage as a way of learning teaches how to co-exist with another person throughout your entire life. You learn to take care of the other person and keeping the well being of the other above yours. Marriage is all about keeping the other person's sensitivities above your own thoughts and feelings.

Marriage is also a family union. You are not only wedded to a person whom you love but you also get wedded to the person's family. In a marriage you try to integrate into your independent existence the other person's families. In a lot of communities and countries marriage is not decided between the individuals but between families because they believe that even though the marriage is between two individuals ultimately it is the families who get related to each other.

Marriage is all about patience and perseverance. It takes immense amount of patience to shed your own habits which you have lived with for a lot many years but also you need to understand the habits of the marriage partner and give that partner a chance to understand you. Your value system may be challenged by the value system of the other person. You may not see eye to eye on a few things but if you have patience things will work out.

In almost all the marriages there may be instances when you will not be able to see eye to eye on a few issues. It is here you need to understand about the other person's perspectives. Patience definitely comes in handy here. Understanding the nature of the other person is also important as that will mean you know almost everything about the partner.

External pressures add to the confusion here. Every now and then friends will say something to you about your partner that will get you frustrated or demoralized. In marriage nothing is more important than the trust. This virtue alone will help you keep the institution of marriage alive.

With all the beliefs and values being incorporated into you in a new fashion makes it all the more reason to believe that marriage is an institution.