General

There is a connection between "beauty" and "love," but not in the way advertisers would have us believe. They tout a form of beauty that is merely aesthetic, something that could inspire lust - a thin replica of love based more in desire and conquest. What they claim to bestow they cannot, for real beauty comes from within; and it is only that form of beauty that can make lasting love connections. True love is a unity of souls, not facial features and products that will be wiped clean away come the evening time. If we truly wish to be happy, to be healthy and grounded, content with who we are, we need to find real beauty in both ourselves and those who share our lives. Finding it begins with a quiet understanding of one other, not demanding perfection but seeking the beauty every person holds within.

General

Melony flicked through the images of young men on her phone – so many messages, so little time. Aaron had been fun, but his repertoire was getting stale. It was time for fresh blood, time for to put her beau in the garbage. She giggled. That's where she'd file the memories of him, fun though they were. He was clutter in her head and she wanted to be minimalist up top. First choice was colour and height, the right “model” made all the difference. Who wanted the same dinner over and over? Not her! Of course he'd be crushed, devastated. At that thought she felt an infusion of strength, so intoxicating. The power of the rejection, the power of choosing his replacement, followed by discovering the “talents” of the new boy. She giggled, first select, then dump Aaron... somewhere public where he couldn't make a fuss, then delete him, block him, job done.

General

Lust can be fun - I'm not saying it isn't – but where does it lead? What is it's purpose? Everyone I know who prefers lust to love was damaged by someone. They won't trust anymore and without trust you can't have love, it just isn't possible. So yeah, you can hit the internet and have more “partners” than a sailor on shore leave, and you'll still be lonely inside. Nothing can touch that but a true lover – trustworthy and kind. So don't give up on love, the real deal, not the hollywood fireworks version. Your love is your best friend, your confidant, your eternal refuge. For if we have a moral compass (and I believe we do) then what else could be true north but true love? I'm no prude, heck no, it's just that you're too precious to waste yourself in these shallow ways – dead ends when what you need is a haven for your soul.

General

Callie had read in some fancy magazine before that lust and passion were entirely different, but she'd never understood until that moment. She'd ditched Liam for being too needy... though she loved him and he'd loved her. It's what Greta had told her to do, “That boy is always gonna drag you down!” She looked over at her new lover, breathing in that shallow rhythmic way he did before waking. He was fun, but she didn't love him and that made everything they did “lust” instead of “passion.” She thought of Liam - her scrawny boy from the wrong side of the tracks and her heart broke some more. Her eyes became watery and she looked toward the ceiling, her mind falling down into an emotion she was already tired of, “What if all we get is one true love? What if? What if the first is always the strongest?”

It was no matter now, none. Liam would never take her back. It was all in his eyes when they met at the office – cold distrust hiding the pain. Greta said it was just temporary, but somehow Callie didn't think so; she didn't really like herself anymore and there was a chance she never would. She was one of “those”girls, a person she never expected to be.

General

Todd sneered, “Give me a hot girl for a night or two and I don't care what her 'opinions' are. I don't like my 'tail' to talk unless they are complementing me or promising something naughty. Love is for fools. I like my women like my coffee cups – tempting and disposable. They come for the glamour and leave with a story, that's the way it is. Why else be successful? One trophy wife, one executive home, multiple sports cars and model girls on a carousel. Hell yeah!”