To help me illustrate my point let me ask you a question.

What would you do if a perfect stranger came up to you while you were walking through the mall and smacked you square on the side of your neck?

Think about it for a second. What would you do?

Would you smack them back? Would you start screaming? Would you start running? Or would you start crying?

What would you do?

Now what if before you had a chance to do anything this stranger blurted out while gasping for breath, that he was, ?sorry for hitting you like that, but there was a big hairy spider crawling up your collar and it looked like it was about to have you for lunch.?

Then you follow his hand as he points behind you to see this huge, black, fanged-spider curled up on the ground a few feet away from you.

Now, what would you do? Now, how would you respond?

Your response would be somewhat different now, wouldn't it? The fact that this stranger slapped you on the side of your neck doesn't seem so bad anymore does it?

But what changed between your initial reaction and your current response?

Nothing really; that is nothing on the outside. But there is something that changed on the inside, and that is your perception of what this stranger did.

See, once you understood ?why this stranger did? ?what he did?; ?what he did? does not seem so bad.

In fact, you're probably grateful that a perfect stranger cared enough about you to do something like this.

Understanding this truth is the key to understanding all relationships; especially between a man and a woman.

The biggest problem I see in relationships is that people get frustrated and angry with the opposite sex because they don't have a clue as to ?why? the opposite sex does the things that they do. But here is one key point you must understand. Everyone and I mean everyone will be motivated to do things or not do things based on their inner compass. And everyone's inner compass is rooted in love.

If a person is strongly rooted and grounded in love then their inner compass will direct them one way, if a person is not strongly rooted and grounded in love then their inner compass will direct them another way.

This means that if you are in a relationship with someone, based on that person's inner compass they can be motivated to do you good or to do you harm. But it's not just enough to analyze another person's love compass. You have to first identify your own.

What things are you motivated to do or not do in a relationship?

What are some of the things you do in a relationship because you crave the need for love?

Do you find yourself in and out of relationships and you don't even know what happened?

Are you sleeping with the opposite sex because you're trying to fulfill that love void?

Do you get angry or abusive with the person you say you love and don't understand why?

By taking the time to honestly search within yourself to find answers to questions like these you will gain three major benefits.

The first one is, once you identify your love compass it will be easier for you to treat people and respond to people the way you would want them to treat and respond to you.

The second one is, it will be easier for you to identify and empathize with the things that other people do in their search for love.

And lastly, you will greatly reduce the frustration, headaches, and the stress that can arise when dealing with the opposite sex.

Copyright 2006 Gil Bryan