I have been thinking a whole lot about what I believe in as far as love and relationships go. In the past, I took the "head in the clouds" path. La dee da. Which is cool. If you're Cinderella and your story ends when the carriage goes off into the sunset.
But this is Earth, where the story keeps going. And what happens when the new wears off? What happens when Cinderella starts getting on Prince Charming's nerves? Or when Prince Charming starts "working late?" Or when both of them start to show their age? Yeah...the fairytales never explain that part.
So, something hit me. Actually, life gave me a large dose of reality in the only way life knows how. Because of this...I no longer believe in the following: love at first sight, soulmates, knights in shining armor searching for their damsels in distress, grand romantic gestures, or "signs."
I'm no longer half a person seeking out the person designed for them, thinking said person will "complete them."
The only person I needed to find was myself. And it was easier than I thought! I was here all along! Who knew?
And of course I still believe in love. In fact, I believe in it SO much that I don't want to make a mockery out of it. I don't want to commercialize it like Valentine's Day. Or make it scientific by saying it's all instinct. Instead, I want to love as God intended it. Slow and strong. I want to fall in love accidentally. I want to wake up one day and realize that someone has been there all along. That we know each other's flaws and the way the other works and we appreciate it. More than that, we can't HELP but love the other. The other's happiness matters exponentially. Key words are giving, committment, and TIME.
In real love, the new doesn't wear off because there isn't a "new" phase. It builds from ground zero. The only reason we think of the new wearing off is because that's when we learn about each other.
But we should do that BEFORE we commit to them. That way, when the time comes there is nothing left BUT to be together. You can't resist it anymore.
You don't need your "other half." You're a whole person all on your own. Be happy that way.
Because of all of the self-refelcting life forced me into, I now know that I don't consciously WANT to fall in love. Which means, it's going to be a complete accident and hit me like a ton of bricks. And leave me thinking..."Well, oops" With my luck, it will probably be someone so wrong for me on paper. But I won't care. Because I will have already built a foundation on friendship and be committed to the person before we're even officially committed to each other. And I am soooo ok with that.
Everything happens for a reason. In a way, I like to think that God cured me of a disease I had called "hopeless romanticism." Not just saying this, but I have no DESIRE to be in a relationship. None. Zero. Expectations are out of the window along with idealizations. The next time I'm in one it will be because I couldn't help myself.