But I also believe you select your "one". And the fact that you, and your "one", are growing organisms that can adapt and grow together -- that brings us to the "T".

That's the ideal, yes, and I've seen it work. I've also seen it not work -- sometimes with the same person involved. My grandfather, for example, was married twice, both times for over twenty years. His first marriage eventually fell apart, for a number of reason, but I think they can be summarized by saying that he and my grandmother simply came to have differing views of their relationship and of each other, and weren't able to fulfill each other's expectations. A few years later, he married again, and that marriage lasted until he died; he and Ardis were able to change together instead of growing apart.

That's why I believe in Maugham's quote, even though I always hope things go otherwise. *sigh*