Love has become a four-letter word. It's one of the most overused, under-appreciated, misunderstood words in the English language. Nowadays, the image of love seems more like a 7/11; a convenience store on the road of life, designed to provide satisfactory feelings without too much effort, rather than the classic sentiment associated with fairytales like Cinderella .

What am I talking about? I'm talking about how we've changed the definition of love. It has become an all-encompassing term used to describe virtually any relationship we are in, even if it is one void of any deep emotional connection.
Settling For Less
The subject really began to intrigue me when a guy I recently met revealed that his relationship of six years was little more than a bad habit; an empty shell of what was once a great relationship. When I asked him why he was still with her, all I got was a shrug of the shoulders and a futile attempt at explaining (more like justifying) his decision. She even cheated on him, and he took her back. Why stay with her? Because it was "good enough."

Thus began a soul-searching journey into the subject of love, and why men in general have given up on finding real love .

When did we stop believing in love? Actually, a more appropriate question is -- when did the word love carry the same connotation as fantasy and fairytale ? And when I refer to love, I'm referring to real love, the kind of love you'd give up your soul -- and your left arm for. Have we become so shallow and jaded as a society that we instantly dismiss the notion of falling in love as a story from our grandparents' time?
Love And Lust
There are plenty of couples that love each other; it's a normal, natural emotion that exists when one spends a considerable amount of time with another. But time makes us love someone; being in love is a whole other story. You can love your sister, your mother, your brother, your friends (though you'll never admit to that one unless you're under the influence), but you can only be in love with a woman that sets your heart on fire.

Unfortunately, nowadays we easily confuse the concept of love with attraction. Men, apparently pigs by nature (even I, Mr. Sensitive, must admit to falling prey to the curse of lust), tend to think a good time in bed equates love. Actually, allow me to correct myself: a good time in bed and remembering her name can be mistaken for love. But deep down, men are as skeptical about love as they are about a phone call
 claiming a free prize if they would only reveal their credit card number.

Men often get together and devise plans on how to seduce as many women as possible. It's not that we do it on purpose -- actually the Discovery channel even revealed that it's part of our genetic makeup -- but the truth is that men are bitter creatures. Contrary to popular opinion (or any football movie you've seen), the male ego is as fragile as a Faberge Egg.
When Did We Stop Believing?
We are not born bitter; we become bitter, more likely after a sour relationship that left a bad taste in our mouths. We were all optimists once, believing that we only date women we are in love with, but we quickly came to terms with reality. If the love you had has become a fleeting emotion, it was never really love to begin with. And what happens? We stop believing it ever really existed.

End result? We stay in a relationship that can be summed up as good enough . In other words, it has enough elements to justify continuing the relationship despite the fact that we don't have a sparkle in our eyes when we talk about her, and our hearts don't skip a beat when she calls. Basically, we stay in relationships for too long, even though there isn't an iota of passion. Are we so afraid of being alone that we would sacrifice something that would obviously make us happy, for a person we merely get along with?

Do you even know what passion is? Find out.


The Passion Test
Passion. Isn't that a word in the dictionary? Isn't it a powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger? Isn't it something that Romeo and Juliet had? How many of us have ever felt it? Not many. Remember; I'm talking about passion, not lust.

Passion expresses itself in the weirdest of ways, but it can be summarized like this: If you tremble when you are close to her, then you are feeling the effects of passion (unless you are just an incredibly shy guy). If you get into a fight, say the cruelest things in the world, and end up sharing a kiss that could make the world stop, then passion is there.

If your goodbye kisses are but simple pecks on the cheek or lips, devoid of any emotion, then your relationship has no passion. If you can sleep well at night, despite having had a major fight with your significant other, then passion is non-existent.

Unfortunately, passion isn't something we can pick up at the nearest convenience store; it's either there or it's not. And since few of us have ever experienced passion, we don't believe it exists. People who are passionate love hard, hate hard, and have a joy for living that others can only sit back and envy.
All You Need Is Love
On that note, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that true love does exist; the bad news is that it is as unlikely to occur as seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone appear in a remake of Thelma & Louise .

The Beatles had a moderately successful career (an understatement, if there ever was one) singing about love, as almost every one of their tunes broached the subject and became a Top 10 hit. Did they know something we didn't, or were they referring to it in the same way New Age artists refer to the mythical rising Phoenix?

Of course not. The lesson we have to take from this is simple: love is out there, somewhere in this dark, lonely world, but don't bet the farm on finding it.

You can't go around looking for love, it just happens the same way you reach puberty: unexpectedly and painfully. Almost everyone who has fallen in love (again, I'm referring to the I'd give up my right kidney for it kind of love) has said it came out of the blue, having caught them off-guard. You can find it today, or it's possible that you missed it yesterday.

Everyone falls in love at least once in their lives; before they become bitter, divorced, and join support groups. Too often, it happens when they are too young to realize its grace and beauty, and before they become suspicious of anything that seems too good to be true.
Everyone's A Critic
Am I being too cynical? Yes, I am, but I have reason to be. Just ask those closest to you whether they are deeply in love, and you'll be surprised by the answer. We've become an almost loveless, sex-crazed society with no concern for any significant amount of emotional investment or attachment -- but there is hope.

The hope I have (and yes, this is a stretch) is that the men and women in this world stop trapping themselves in loveless, lifeless relationships. I hope they refuse to engage in any kind of relationship in which they do not wish to spend every living, breathing moment next to the person they are passionate about.

Right.

What I said has about as much chance of happening as squirrels do of landing on the moon. However, if you are in a relationship that doesn't bring you happiness, be a man and end it. Yes, I know the steady dose of sex is hard to give up, but have some self-respect boys. At least stop fooling the other person.

Six signs that you're really in love with the one you're with..


6 Signs You're In Love

So how do you know that Cupid was up to his old tricks again? Beyond feeling like a bumbling idiot when talking about the object of your affection, here are six signs that you're feeling the Big L. Those who are allergic to sappy items, please do not read on; it's gonna to get messy.

1- You Want To Be Nice
In short, you want to be a better man. The sarcasm dies down, the snide remarks take a vacation, and you start smiling all the time.

2- You Feel Complete
You start to feel that this person understands you like no one has before, and you start having visions of your children in her eyes. Yes, you feel like Tom Cruise did when he uttered the words, "You -- complete -- me."

3- The Damn Radio Sings To You
All of a sudden, even Phil Collins starts to make sense. You listen to songs differently and begin to understand their significance in a way you never thought possible. The worst is yet to come: when Celine Dion comes on, you don't turn the dial -- okay, maybe that's a stretch.

4- You Feel Pain When You're Not With Her
Your heart beats quickly all day, and you find every excuse in the world to blow off your buddies and see her. The longing to be with her is almost like a drug. This is where you start doodling her name everywhere.

5- You Think About Her All The Time
The time that isn't spent thinking about her is spent on sports, food and sex (with her, of course).

6- You Lose Your Head
Suddenly, everything else becomes secondary to her, and you start doing crazy things you never thought you would do. This is when you are likely to buy a Celine Dion album; scary thought, isn't it?

Laugh all you want, but deep down, men really want to feel this way (minus the Celine Dion part). For those lucky enough to experience it, put a sign on your shirt so the rest of us can point at you and say, "If he can do it, I can too."

And if you want the ultimate test of whether you are in love or not, just remember:

Real love will devastate you.
If love does not shatter you,
you do not know love.