How broken is that broken heart – really?

As a writer I have joined a number of writing groups, some good, some not so great. Although I have met a number of men in the various groups, never anyone who sent a zing! through my socks. I became mildly interested in the leader of my last group. I made myself available by attending one of his poetry get-togethers and inviting him to one of my events.

It seemed like we might have had something going on…for about five minutes when he closed up the group and disappeared from my life. Coincidental? Probably not. Had he thought about this? Probably. I was a little sad…but in retrospect, how often do I even think about him? Actually, fairly seldom. Meaning what? I wasn’t really in love, interested if he was interested. And…well…apparently not. Is my heart broken? Not really.

Cast your mind back and think about two different group of guys (or guy); the one(s) you think about over and over again and the one(s) you never think about. I recently went to a church event and a young man was there who was always nice to me. For the life of me, I could not remember his name. I thought about it all the way home and decided it was a D name like Daryl or Darren. I knew I had it written down at home somewhere. So, hunting around I found a card. His last name started with the D and the first name was Bill. I was so far off!

What does this mean? Probably that I think about him so seldom I can’t even remember his name. Whew! Is it that easy? Could be that little inner voice telling you things your rational mind chooses to ignore? Don’t ignore instincts. They are very useful. 

Cyber Stalking: Don’t do this. It’s not dignified and it’s not even respectful. Personally, I have been stalked at least twice and it’s a terrible feeling, like being a prisoner in your own home. Plus, you’re always looking over your shoulder when you’re out.  

We need to respect others and their choices. We need to respect ourselves. This behavior does not make you feel better, it makes you feel worse and small. If he is on your Facebook, Twitter account, delete him and resist the temptation to keep signing on and staring at that face again. Stop. There are a lot of fish in the sea and you the longer you spend on a lost cause, the longer it will take to find Mr. Right. Hang in there and do the right thing.

Speed Dating vs Rejection

Rejection never feels good in any setting: romantic, work or friendships. However, we can reframe the rejection thing. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Does love at first sight exist?

Brides Magazine

 “Yes, love at first sight can be an overwhelming sensation that feels like love but it isn’t, according to Robirosa. It is actually caused by a chemical reaction. “Basically, it’s a good match of endorphins between two people and in essence, it is an indication of strong physical attraction,” she says. “ By Lauren Levy Updated on 05/16/22

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Love at first sight might not mean that you are destined to be together forever. However, psychologists also tell us that attraction to and from the opposite sex usually happens within just a few minutes. The way a person looks, acts, feels, sounds and even smells comes into our consciousness in a way that sends a message of “Yes! More of this!” or “No, thank you!”

Once again, we are learning to be guided by and to trust our intuition about who we have some real interest in or not.

A dating system that has gotten a lot of popularity recently is Speed dating. This is a get-together, usually in a restaurant or some public places. There you get together with a series of individuals and have a ‘speed’ date lasting about five minutes. Thereafter, you determine your interest or none in a person or persons you have met.

You can actually do this yourself if you think of life as a series of speed date situations. We can spend a lot of time nursing our wounds over individuals who have rejected us or appear to have no interest. We can also be thankful that those actions free us to move onto someone else who will be interested.

Consider each interaction you have with a guy as a speed date. Trust me, if the male takes his time to interact with you and engage in conversation, he is interested. It is then up to you to decide, are you interested? Or not or maybe? You are conveying this information back to the guy with your expressions, your conversation, your smile and your willingness to ‘hang around’ a bit more. When you quickly leave the pool, the bar, the restaurant, the volley ball game, the whatever, you are conveying a certain message: not available, not interested. However, if you hang around a bit (not three hours) a different message is conveyed and the male will pick up on this quickly and understand it.

Don’t underestimate the power of attraction, it is important to a relationship the same way sex is important. Sex is often fueled by attraction. It’s not everything but it carries a lot of weight.

Shall I have sex with him?

Attraction is not always the same as compatibility. You may be sexually attracted to someone who is very much not the right guy. Be aware, if you become intimate with a man, it will be 50 times more difficult to bail out of the relationship than if you did not. Remember also, it is not just you getting hurt, the man gets hurt too. It can be a high price to pay on both sides. Sometimes it is better to deal with sexual frustration than a lot of lasting emotional hurt.

Is it that goober again?

How do you know there is some real interest there? A defining thing is consistency. He always smiles when he sees you, he remembers your name, he’s always friendly and nice to you. There is no hot-cold, on and off, back and forth and never knowing what the mood will be like today. If the guy is like that now, he will be like that….on going. You will never know where you stand or the true nature of your relationship. He may smile like a goober and that can be a very positive sign.

Is it him?

You have met the guy, somewhere. Maybe friends, maybe church, maybe a bicycle repair class, maybe school, perhaps on a trip…somewhere. He is consistent…he likes you. His face lights up when he sees you, he smiles, opens the door, brings you coffee. Then, it starts with little things, cards, small gifts, you meet his friends, he meets your friends. There are more small gifts, he does things for you, brings you things, fixes your car, offers to buy you Tylenol, cough syrup, orange juice, when you are sick. And so it goes. Things move on, he continues to tell you that he likes you and likes to spend time with you. You meet his family, he meets your family, they like you and you like them. Whoa.

When I was younger, I did not get the significance of meeting the man’s family. I just thought it was lunch (or dinner.) I really didn’t lock onto the significance of these meetings. Not until some years later did I realize that if the man has no serious intentions about you or the relationship, you will never meet his family, or children or close friends. I get that now and have learned it’s a serious sign. The family is sizing you up and deciding if you are okay for their son. Your family does the same thing. So, once again, listen to what goes on in these ‘casual’ meetings and take mental notes. You need to ask yourself, not just do I like them on the surface level, do we fit, mesh together? Are we cut from the same cloth?

Unfortunately, if the answer to these questions is no, not really, there could be problems down the line.

Yes, it is him

You have made up your mind. It is him, he’s the one. You fit with him and he fits with you. Ying and yang. You relax, you are ready for whatever comes next. And…

He asks you to get married. Wow! Then he stares at you with big puppy dog eyes and you want to start crying. You can’t tell if it is the puppy dog eyes or that you are so happy. Whatever, you say yes.

You call and tell your mother. She is hysterical, you father is proud, your older sister says something like “Oh, I knew it was just a matter of time.”

You sigh in a pink bubble of happiness. You and he go to your favorite French restaurant and celebrate and you are clothed in a warm, fuzzy pink blanket. All your dreams come true. For today.