Find Friends

Let’s face it, without friends to share the good moments in life with, it reduces one’s quality of life. And if you’ve taken the position of, “I don’t need no stinking friends,” then it is certain that you will not. If you ever find yourself in need of a friend (which happens from time to time) you will not have anyone to turn to when it would be beneficial to have someone you could lean on.

I’m not saying you have to have a hundred friends, although someone I work with has hundreds of friends – probably the most connected person I’ve ever met – and while he maintains genuine friendships with them, when he needs a friend for anything (personally or professionally) a simple text, email or phone call is all it takes for them jump at the opportunity to help him. A few friends, like four or five, who live in within a hundred miles or so would serve you well.

These should be special friends. That means they are compatible, share some of the same interests and passion as you, integrous, trustworthy and you will have each other’s back. It’s not likely this will happen overnight but to remain open and willing to invite a few special people into your life would help to attract the right kind of people but don’t expect your new friends to materialize in front of you.

find friends frienships relationships

You have to put yourself in the right places to find friends who are the kind of people that would make good friends. You might even have to create opportunities to find friends. Consider joining an organization, creating your own club, networking event, regular themed meet up or meeting that will attract participants who are likely to share similar interests.

As you’re attracting a core group of friends who will “have your back” and you theirs, keep in mind that you are not desperate, and do not try to force a friendship. If you’re in the right place at the right time, a potential friendship will blossom naturally. Though you may need to make the first move (invite someone to coffee, etc.) be thoughtful enough not to seem aggressive while finding friends. Maintaining a genuine friendship is not hard work; they simply grow and mature without much effort.

Once you’ve met someone in public, you will need to move to a more private arena to build a relationship. True friendships are built off-line, not just during breaks at events. If you think you are too shy, you might want to practice putting yourself out there enough to create bonds with people you might like or learn to love if given the chance.

If you find a friend, or two, at a particular event or venue, it may be time to reach out to another group of people or to hang out with their other friends at other get-togethers to give you new opportunities to find potential friends that can grow into authentic relationships.

It is important to maintain a sense of community. You may find your regular circle of friends and family are not as supportive of your goals, dreams and desires – and may not even recognize a win for you as such, so – expecting them to celebrate with you would be confusing to them. But a group of like-minded individuals will “get you” and celebrate enthusiastically, helping to cement your new plateau, and encourage you to reach even farther on your quest to your highest and best.

These people could end up being your most trusted long term friends for life.

Digital Relationship Questions

In this day and age, getting into a romantic relationship with someone has a whole new set of quandaries thanks to our affair with the digital age. In some ways our relationship with digital media supersedes our relationship with other human beings.

Let’s face it, especially if we’re dating, there is an ebb and flow, leading to more on than off or off altogether. While your perspective mate may have left… your digital device and social media will remain.

digital romance social media and relationships romantic relationship technology boundaries

 

So, it’s prudent to consider how your digital relationship will interface with your other human relationships, and it may be important to know what your digital boundaries are prior to engaging in a relationship with someone else and clearly communicating them early on.

Digital Boundaries in Relationships

To establish your digital boundaries, you need to find out where you are when it comes to where you feel comfortable – or uncomfortable – with what you share digitally.

Questions regarding your digital romance to consider in respect to your current romantic interest might be

Social Media

Do I want him to monitor my social media?
Am I okay with him posting on my wall?
How do I feel about him tagging me?
Is it okay for him to befriend my social media friends?
Should we post details about our relationship online?
Am I ready to change my relationship status?

Cell Phone

What is appropriate text frequency?
How soon do I expect a response when I text?
Is it appropriate to send (or expect) risqué photos of each other (sexting)?
What are the appropriate times for talking or facing via cell phone?
And what is a comfortable length of time for digital communication?

Generally

Do we share each other’s cell phones, computers or other digital devices?
Do we exchange passwords to personal devices, email, social media, etc…?

Knowing the answers to these and other questions is the starting point for you setting your digital relationship boundaries.

Discuss and Come to an Agreement

As you establish your relationship (or as soon as possible, if your relationship is already progressing) have a conversation about your digital expectations in your relationship to establish healthy boundaries. Make certain that each of you understand each other’s expectations and agree to honor them before going forward.

Defend Your Boundaries

Just like any other social boundaries, they are your personal space and you must insist on having your space (even if it’s virtual) respected. Your digital space may be more important than your physical space, for if you were victim to physical abuse the bruises wounds and scars would heal over time, while what happens in cyberspace stays in cyberspace. That is to say – even the best efforts to erase something online are often fruitless, as – nearly anything that has found its way online may be retrieved.

Allow Change

The way that you feel about your partner’s digital interface can change over time. Nothing is set in stone, here. Stay open and honest about how you’re feeling and be open about how you feel about your digital concerns. Revisit your digital agreement and modify it as necessary at any time.

Walk Away Let It Go

When involved in any kind of relationship with another person, whether in a friendship, romantic, familial, work or business relationship, you may find yourself wondering if it’s time for

Letting go of someone you love

let it go walk away tough love letting go of someone you love stupid things know when to walk away

You may find yourself unequally yoked with someone who is not a positive influence on your life. Their lives may be filled with drama and they may be somewhat self-destructive. Because you love and care for this person, you may find yourself expending a great deal of your personal resources redirected to this person more often than not.

Once you realize that someone is draining you, as you have a decreasing volume of inner strength and/or other resources (or even nothing left, if it’s already gone on far too long) for yourself, you begin to wonder if it’s time to walk away from this person, enough for you to garner some strength of your own without accusation, judgment or ridicule – because you know everyone is doing the best they can with what they have – in an effort to just let it go.

Care Too Much

The more emotionally tethered you are to this individual; the harder it may be to sever the cords that bind you so rigidly. Why? Because you care. It’s why you’re in this situation, now, and while it’s good to care, it may be self-destructive of you to care too much. What is caring too much? When

You care about the other person more than they care about themselves

We All Do Stupid Things

Understanding we all are emotional beings, we all realize that we all occasionally find ourselves saying something stupid (inappropriate or at the wrong time and/or place) or doing stupid things when we’re not fully our most conscious. This allows us to engage our empathy when we see someone else struggling and feel sorry for them or want to help them get back on their feet. At what cost?

You can help someone, but you cannot help someone who does not respect your assistance, and will not pick up the ball, accept responsibility for their own life, and live their life in a better way on their own. You cannot be expected to be someone else’s everything. You must love them enough to let them find their own way, even if it means letting them stumble, fall, self-destruct and hit rock bottom, if that’s what it takes.

Know when to walk away

Take a personal power inventory. Rate yourself from 1-to-10 on your personal balance of these:

Happiness, Joy, Contentment, Personal satisfaction, Exercising good judgment, Enjoying activities and/or hobbies, Spending time with others whose company makes you feel good or better, Feeling good about yourself and Enjoying good health.

If your relationship with this person is responsible for depleting your personal accounts in these areas, you know it’s time to walk away.

It’s time to distance yourself from this person if you have more emotional pain resulting from

Depression, fear, despair, rage, guilt, worrying, bitterness, lack of energy, helplessness, unhappiness and frustrations with feeling responsibility for covering up for this person’s actions and life choices.

Other signs you might be better off without this particular person would include their propensity to engage in dishonesty, lack of integrity, making promises they never keep, never compromising, self-sabotage, not following through on commitments, inconsiderate of others (especially you), attract drama and continue to deplete your resources (emotional and/or financial).

It’s time to take the time to let it go and focus on your own emotional well-being.

Tough Love

It’s not that you love them any less. In fact, it takes a much greater love to allow someone to find their own way, even if it means walking through the valley of the shadow of death. It’s not easy to watch someone you care about experience the trauma and repercussions of their own decision-making and having to suffer the consequences without being compelled to help relieve some of their discomfort.

Tough love means I love you enough to care, even share in your emotional pain, and enough to let you go through this on your own. I love you. I believe in you and that you have everything you need to have everything you want, to make all your dreams come true, if you choose to embrace your dreams and to whatever is necessary for you to get to where you want to be.

And they call it tough love because it not easy to do. It may be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. But it’s the best thing you could ever do for you and that person for whom you care so dearly. And the people whom you’ve empowered to take responsibility for their own lives, they won’t like it either. They have become dependent on you, but now it’s their time to shine and make their own way. It will be difficult but it will be worth it.

God bless you in all that you do

See also: Toxic Relationships

What is Love If True Love Dies?

In my opinion the sad truth of the deterioration of romantic love in our society is tragic.

Just as everything in the mainstream is moving toward making everything disposable diapers, water bottles, razors, pens, tissues, plates, shower curtains and home furnishings, likewise people and romantic relationships are also becoming more and more disposable.

I have witnessed this transition take place. I’ve seen the budding marriages forged in the fifties, fall victim to the wild abandon of the sixties. Then, in the seventies, the legal system welcomed no fault divorces ushering in the disposable marriage that has led to where we are today, bruised, broken and unable to find any love inside.

What is love if true love dies romantic love signs your marriage is over

I never asked the question, “What is love?” because as far back as I can remember, I had a keen inner sense or knowing what love meant to me, and even though I could have followed my peers in the sexual revolution, I maintained my composure and waited for “the one” I would marry following high school.

Innately, I always had an integrous approach to not only keep my word, but especially to do so if I made a vow of commitment in front of family and friends as witnesses. I pledged my love and commitment to not only a woman, but a family and the community. To me, this was heavy business, as love is a terrible thing to waste.

My deep respect for integrous love is one of the many things contributing to my personal freakiness. I don’t mind admitting it, and I proudly let my freak flag fly. I’d much rather make my own way, forge my own trail, research and discover new ideas, enjoy fulfillment, happiness and a quality of life that eludes the masses.

When I began my journey in the God business, I focused on love and relationships (no surprise, as this was my passion, even wrote a book about it) only to find the people who were attracted to counsel with me were not as interested in healing their relationship. Instead of asking, “How can we make our relationship better?” they were asking, “How do you know when your marriage is over?”

If you are in a potentially amazing romantic relationship, yet constantly on guard, continually looking for signs your marriage is over, chances are you will find what you are looking for. In fact, we know this to be true; you do find what you are looking for (and you always find it in the last place you look).

When someone comes in for relationship counsel asking, “Is my marriage over?” why we don’t just affirm, “Yes, you’ve already aligned yourself with the idea that love doesn’t exist, therefore it does not, and your marriage is over.” Cut your losses now, seek an attorney, get everything you can and be done with it as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

One of the main reasons I shifted my focus from relationships, was because my relationship ministry appeared to be more like torture. If someone is looking for an escape route, planning when to leave a marriage is appropriate. If he or she is thinking about how to end a marriage, then the best intentions of any counselor, therapist, coach or cleric has very little to work with. The best you can hope for is to delay the inevitable which usually leads to more damage, hurt feelings and increased legal battles. Where’s the love in that?

The only people who make out on that deal are the relationship counselors, divorce lawyers and the domestic division of our legal system that supports the whole relationship debacle. (Don’t get me started on the decline of that system…)

I knowingly share the realization of the truth of what is, and I say, “I still believe in true love.” I believe that true love is making its way back to us. I’m not saying that its not (note to editors: the double-negative was intentional) going to be a difficult journey, especially when I look around and survey all the broken people with little capacity for love at all within them (more about that, later…).

Our lack of respect for integrous love has left an indelible mark on our hearts, if it hasn’t stomped out any hope of romantic love for good, but there is a growing compulsion that is beginning to emerge as people realize that all this independence is not what it’s cracked up to be.

True love does exist, there is love waiting for you that is difficult for you to imagine in this moment, and you don’t have to worry about how to find true love, because it will find you. This life, in its highest form is all about love, and you will never be happier and fulfilled as when you change your perspective and begin to peer through the eyes of love.

Think about opening your heart to love… Not just romantic love (that may be too much to ask, from where you are at the moment), but dare to begin to look at anything, beginning with the smallest of things, then progress to other situations and circumstances, with love in your heart.

You will be surprised at how you attract even more love, the more your love light shines from within. It’s a process you can love…

See you at the Soulmate Wizardry event.

Relationship Truth and the Soulmate List

Okay, you asked for it, so here it is: The truth about romantic relationships is that most of them (the successful ones) take work. Sure you have to have all the components…

Broken heart

First you have to start without a broken heart. If you’re looking for mister or miss right, you have to be ready to have a relationship. That means, if you’ve been in one prior, you’d best get a handle on recovery from your previous romantic episode before you go running headlong into the next one, otherwise, you’re just not ready. That’s the truth.

Lonely

“But I’m lonely and don’t want to be alone.”

Okay, I get that. But how long do you expect someone to stick around if they are unable to stand the whirlwind you bring to the table. If he/she reminds you of your ex- either you’re still hung up on your ex- (and not ready to be seeing anyone. See Broken Heart, above) or you’re attracting the same type of person (and how did that work the last time?).

Get Busy

Get busy doing the things that make you feel good, the things that you love. If you’re feeling good all the time, you don’t have the time (or energy) to feel depressed or lonely. I try to stay busy, focused on my clients and spending quality time with my friends (who, unfortunately all are paired up, but fun nonetheless). I can always relax and take time off for her, after I’ve found her.

Awakenings

When you start to realize these things, you can either forge forward with little regard to them or start to wake up to the music. The title of the song you want to hear from within is, “Do Something Different,” or learn to find happiness in the same old types of relationships that you’ve had in the past.

soul mate relationship truth soulmate broken heart lonely awakenings the truth

I have this formula that I use; maybe you will find it helpful for you (maybe not). I call it my

Soulmate List

I have a list of fifty-or-so attributes that I am looking for. In an extra-large font, it takes up three pages.

I came up with the idea, while working with a coach and mentor in Florida, who had used some of these techniques to find her life-long soulmate (that’s what I’m looking for, too) and I’ve added my own tweaks to form a new system. Briefly, it goes, like this:

1a. To first make a list of all the things that you didn’t like in the men in your past relationship.

1b. Then go over the list and translate those into a list of positive attributes (the opposites) that you would look for in Mr. Right. (Ditch the negative list.)

2. Next, make a list of all the things that you liked (or thought you liked) in the men in your previous relationships.

3. Combine the two lists of positive attributes, and you’re almost there…

4. Then, being as specific as you can, think of all the attributes that you would like that aren’t already on the list. (The Floridian coach cautioned me not to leave anything off, because she had neglected to put down, “Physically healthy,” on her list, and wished she had, later.)

Then she says read the list every day, out-loud, once in the morning and once in the evening, and you will get what you confess.

I told the story to my grief counselor, he thinks it’s a great idea and is going to start using that model in his practice.

If you decide to give-it-a-go, I’d like to see your list. (It’s also a great way to turn around some of the pain of past relationships and turn them into positive attributes. It keeps you from focusing on the garbage, leading to real healing.)

The Real Truth

Finally, the real truth is this: My intention was to write and create a book based on this system called, “The Soul Mate List,” with the intention of telling my world’s greatest love story of all time and describe how I found the love of my life quickly and easily using my system.

I find that this system has been highly effective in preventing me from being sidetracked by potential romances that were not my highest and best (nor I theirs). = WIN

On the other hand, seven years… No soul mate… LOL

Connection

There exists a connection that exists between people that transcends circumstance, time and space. Two (or more) people could be separated, yet still connected heart-to-heart by a thread that is not limited to the restrictions of geography, circumstance, time or space.

Such connections exist between mothers and their children, even children that have not been seen since birth still this bond remains. This tether is ever predominantly present between twins, but also (though at lesser intensity) between separated siblings (even if separated at birth or a very early age and raised in different families with no cognitive knowledge of each other) as well as the psychic cords connecting siblings, friends and even people who have never met.

Individuals who share this type of spiritual connection will often find that they have much in common when they do finally meet each other. They commonly like the same things like foods, fashion, hobbies or enjoyable activities and may share a higher level of communication, like thinking the same thoughts at the same time, knowing what is going to be said before the words are spoken, and could be considered a type of telepathic communication.

Spiritual connection between people known and unknown

It’s as if this bond existed prior to birth and persists throughout this life’s journey.

As we traverse our journey, we cross paths with individuals that we have been connected to. I find this of particular interest when someone is attracted to my life – to whom I have no biological connection with and have never known or met previously – who, when I meet them, there is a feeling of kinship, familiarity and knowingness of our being connected without rational explanation.

It’s like meeting up with a dear old friend after a period of separation, yet there was no previous relationship to base these feeling upon.

I have attracted individuals whom I have never met, whose lives have been so similar to my own (which anyone would think impossible to duplicate) that when we become acquainted, we immediately feel as though we’ve known each other before and shared our lives both concurrently and individually. Our recognition of our selves feels more like a reunion than a primal introduction.

Ever since I can remember, I have been seeking and waiting for my romantic soul mate, my one true love, but the evolutionary process of my life has made me keenly aware that we have many soul mates. They are not all romantic in nature and they include a number of people to whom we share this special connection.

I am so grateful to have met these individuals with whom I share a heart connection superceding logic throughout my life; starting with grade school and continuing throughout my life’s journey.

In fact, there is a possibility that as you read these words, you and I may be reconnecting, as you recognize our tethered hearts, even in this moment.

If so, I am so glad that we are getting acquainted (or more correctly “reacquainted”) even though it boggles the mind.

I’m already feeling like a celebration is in order.

How about you?

What do you think about this type of connection?

How would you explain it?

Toxic Relationships How to Deal With Toxic People

Invariably, there will come times in your life when you find people within your inner circle of friends and family who do not have your best interests at heart. They come in all shapes and sizes, can have a variety of social disorders or none at all, but this one thing they have in common:

They Do Not Support Your Continued Growth or Success

Often times, not only are they non-supportive, contact and their continued influence may actually be detrimental to your personal growth and success. These individuals are referred to as “Toxic people.”

To say the least having a toxic relationship can prevent you from achieving your highest and best. Toxic people have a tendency to drag down your emotional state, leaving you feeling drained. Toxic people may be destructive, showering you with admiration to earn your respect and trust only to betray you or stab you in the back.

When you are on a path of personal growth or increasing your performance, it may be necessary to minimize the negative affects of nay Sayers and toxic people in your life.

Toxic relationships toxic people just say no

How to Deal with Toxic People

In most cases, you can decrease the negative influence of toxic people by creating a buffer of space between you and the person with whom you have a toxic relationship. Most toxic people have varying degrees of toxicity and may not be so toxic as to be dangerous.

Simply backing away and being a little more “busy” to avoid spending too much time in close proximity with the toxic person may be enough to mitigate the damages of this particular toxic relationship.

This enables you to maintain a relationship with the toxic individual that is less toxic in nature. Simply by limiting your exposure, you can maintain a healthier version of a previously toxic relationship, which is the best way to approach how to deal with toxic people, especially family, friends, co-workers and/or clients who are somewhat toxic.

Dangerous Toxic Relationships

Dangerously toxic people, on the other hand, are a different breed and must be approached in a different manner.

Dangerous toxic people are destructive. They seek out ways to not only undermine your personal growth or success, but they will extend a great deal of effort to make you feel bad, put you down, impose their beliefs on you, demand your attention and resources (including emotional and financial).

Establishing firm and clear boundaries may be an effective way to deal with a toxic person. If you do this, do not renegotiate your established boundaries, because toxic people – especially dangerously toxic people – will have little regard for your setting boundaries. It is likely that they will persist in an attempt to breach your parameters at every opportunity.

If necessary, limit your exposure to the toxic people in your life to public places. This may decrease the negative affects of the toxic relationship.

In the event that these more considerable options are not effective in eliminating the social toxicity from your life, you may need to severe the toxic relationship altogether.

Stop contacting the toxic person, do not take their calls, block their number, un-friend them from social media, block them if you have to.

With enough lack of access to you, the toxic people will eventually move on to someone else.

The Most Important Thing

The most important thing, fo you, is to maintain healthy relationships and deal with people who support you and make you feel good consistently.

The better you feel, the closer you are to achieving your highest and best.

Wishing you the best and that all your relationships are with people who

Love, Support and Respect You
Increasing Your Happiness

Not Just the Two of Us

Wouldn’t it be great if the two of you were the only ones your breakup affected?

Reconciliation can be a bit more problematic due to the effect that the breakup had on others.

Not only are the two of you seeking counseling, being brutally honest and open, while trying to embrace forgiveness and building trust and a strong intimate, loving relationship, but you have to manage the impact the breakup had on those around you, mitigating the damages that occurred between the breakup and the reconciliation.

It is likely that you reached out to friends and family for support, while dealing with the emotional trauma associated with being dumped by the love of your life.

It is not uncommon for some of the friend-therapy episodes to include a heaping helping of ex-bashing. No malice was intended, but no one likes seeing their friend suffer from the emotional pain of being kicked to the curb by someone whom they’d otherwise liked, supported and whose friend have given her heart to. “That dog!”

What starts out as well-intended, therapeutic banter and meaningless falderal ignites violent rage (which is better than self-loathing depression) as emotions run high and statements are made that would never had been made if there was the slightest glimpse of hope for reconciliation.

Your friends are against reconciliation like an angry mob

How do you explain to your friends and family that the person who did you so wrong (whom you’ve depicted as a monster), is now back with a smile and handful of flowers?

You would expect nothing less than a tongue-lashing for jumping back into the fire… and while you may be more accepting and working toward building trust again, your friends and family do not want to see you hurt again and are less likely to welcome him (or her) back with open arms.

Some of your friends might even perceive that your reunion with your ex- is an insult to the integrity of your relationship with your friend. In this case, your friend(s) might think you’re better off with other friends, as they start to distance themselves from you as you might be seen as a toxic relationship.

After all, helping a friend recover from a traumatic (or abusive) relationship can exert a great deal of energy, leaving the friend/helper exhausted, depleting their own natural resources – which is acceptable if it helps to save the life of a friend – the sacrifice seemingly disregarded, if the offender returns for more and you let them.

Were promises made by the fleeing ex- to friends and/or family that were broken upon abandonment?

What about the children? Were delicate young lives affected by the break-up? What affect did the broken relationship have on them?

That’s only the half of it.

Of course there are his friends and family. God only knows what he told them about you while the two of you weren’t together.

Romantic relationships are hard enough; add to that the affect they have on many of the people within our social circles, especially those within our inner circle, and the relationship reverberates and ripples throughout our other relationships.

The rebuilding of the relationship with each other will also mean both of you will be rebuilding relationships with the other’s others in an attempt to regain trust and faith among family and friends (even if you did nothing wrong).

Is it worth it?

At some point you have to ask yourself, “Is all this effort really worth it?”

It’s better to ask yourself this question BEFORE you attempt reconciliation, because the last thing you want to do is to exasperate the situation by dragging yourself and everyone else through this nightmare (or possibly a worse one) again.

Be certain that you’re not settling for the sake of convenience.

And maybe you need more friends, like me, who will support you – no matter what you decide – we will be there for you.

True love will prevail All the love you desire is waiting for you

If it really is true love

Love will prevail

All the love you desire is waiting for you

It’s up to you to figure out if it’s with the person who betrayed you?

Or is this a distraction that will keep you from the love you deserve?

If the two of you share an uncompromising love for each other and are willing to endure what it takes to successfully heal your relationship, this could lead to your most amazing love story.

I applaud all those who believe in and cast their vote for love everlasting.

Second Chances

You’ve loved, you’ve lost, the sacredness of your love disregarded, broken trust, betrayal and the lover that left you has returned.

When your ex- comes knockin' do you send him a-walkin'?
When your ex- comes knockin’ do you send him a-walkin’?
What do you do?

First off, you must wrap your head around the idea that if your former lover left you, he or she will likely do it again. Statistically, this is the bottom line.

If 9 out of 10 exiting exes tend to exit again, do you think yours is the 1 out of 10 who will return to stay?

Only if you believe he or she is “the one” (out of ten) then you need to saddle-up and get ready to give it another go, else-wise he or she gets the ole heave-ho.

Identify if you and/or your partner, are serial breakers. Some people actually attract the on again/off again relationship style and have an odd affection for all the drama that comes with it. If you and your partner are both okay with that, there is no need to read on.

There is a tendency to entertain the impossible romance for a variety of reasons, maybe you only remember the good times, being with someone familiar is better than starting over, after the breakup your self-esteem may have been sinking or you would rather be with someone than to be alone.

These are only some of the unhealthy reasons you might be compelled to allow someone into your life who is likely to disappoint, leave you and break your heart again.

There are also healthy reasons that you might consider reconciliation, like truly having an intimate and loving relationship (that goes both ways), maybe the breakup was due to circumstances beyond your control and were not directly connected to your romance and/or sharing children and working together for the common good, amongst others.

If you’re to have any hope of a successful reconciliation the one who left should be remorseful upon re-entry. He or she must be willing and able to recount their departure, explain why they left and genuinely regret their decision to leave. You should be able to “feel” their regret and they should cite some reasons that they believe that he or she would not walk out on you again.

To be certain that you have your wits about you, you should be able to have the answers to some basic questions before you reconcile:

Can you learn to trust him or her again?
Does he or she have a history of bailing out on previous relationships?
Did the break-up happen due to a lack of love in the relationship?
What does the returning ex-lover expect to gain from reconciliation?

Don’t second-guess yourself. Most jilted lovers will turn their attention inward, asking themselves, “What did I do wrong?” even escalating toward levels of self-abuse. Stop it. You didn’t bail on the relationship.

Don’t fall for the old, “What’s in the past is in the past. Let’s just forget it all and start over.”

As you move forward it may be wise to consider enlisting the aid of a therapist or relationship coach to help increase open communication, evaluating issues that may have contributed to the break-up and resolving those issues.

Both parties must review the past, determine what can be changed also be willing and able to make the changes necessary to increase the odds of maintaining and sustaining a long-term romantic relationship.

If you are unable to resolve your differences, there is the likelihood that there is another breakup looming in your future as you wait for the bomb to drop.

When someone returns, who has turned their back on you previously, it could be an opportunity for you to grow and expand in your own self-confidence and consciousness. A firm, “thanks, but no thanks,” may be an appropriate response validating your desire only to surround yourself with people and circumstances that support you, your highest and best life from this point forward.

Plus, there’s more to consider: Romantic Relationships Are More Than Two People

Broken Heart

What can you do when someone breaks your heart?

broken heart when someone breaks your heart

When it comes down to it, you only have two choices: to try to salvage the relationship (or what’s left of it) or to walk away from it altogether.

The fact of the matter is that people in relationships do not always have the best integrity. They keep secrets, fail to disclose specific details about things – including their true feelings – and misrepresent their level of commitment and a host of other lies and deceit.

Two people, like that, are a perfect match for each other. The problems arise when you have one integrous person, and one who is not, in the same relationship. At some point the relationship will experience a great deal of conflict and some of the incongruency will be revealed, leaving the other feeling betrayed and suffering from a broken heart.

When it becomes apparent that you appear to be the victim of unrequited love, you find yourself looking at all the clues that you overlooked over the term of the relationship. Those little inconsistencies bear more and more weight in retrospect, and it’s easy to blame yourself, like, “Why didn’t I pay more attention to that when it happened?”

The reason is because you wanted to believe the love that you had for the other person was being returned in kind. You projected your love on the other person, when in reality he or she was unable to do so.

Why? Because of all the benefits that come from loving and being loved. We project our lovingness onto them because receiving (or believing that we are receiving) the love we are giving gives us the benefits of a feeling of belonging and being treasured which actually makes us healthier and happier enabling us to live longer, with higher quality of life.

Truth be told, most (if not all) participants in a romantic relationship (even the most integrous and loving ones) maintain some level of deceit. It’s as though there is a righteous kind of deceit that has no intended malice, but is an effort to honor the feelings of the other person. In fact, most successful relationships are comprised of a complicated blend of honor and well-intended deception.

In this respect, it’s easy to say, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Because even though you may have loved the other person with all your heart, chances are you, too, have not been completely honest and open. If you have… it is somewhat more tragic, nonetheless, you’re still at the same juncture.

If the other person has left, there is little you can do but to let them go.

There is a delicate thread that separates seeking reconciliation and obsessive stalking (which there are laws against that could carry legal ramifications including jail time).

If you are left alone, be mindful that true love is still seeking you (though you may not feel like it at the moment) and you will be rewarded for your diligence, if you become the love that you seek.

In the event the former lover returns in an attempt to re-establish their romantic relationship with you, proceed with caution.

Is it possible to establish trust again with someone who has betrayed you?

See: Second Chances