And I stopped and thought about how these traditions come and stay. About how generations of children have celebrated religious heritages with bar/bat mitzvahs and christenings and baptism parties; about how American girls have Sweet Sixteen’s and how Latin girls have Quince’s. About weddings. And how these events occur just once in a lifetime. Once or twice in a family.

I was thinking the other day (No cracks from my friends please.) about the subtle differences between words that are commonly used, sometimes not used or mis-used. Let me give you an example. I'm sorry. This simple two word sentence can be interpreted so many ways and have so many different meanings for both the person who speaks them and the person who they are directed toward.

I am no expert at love. The very word makes me nauseous and sets my body to a defensive mode. But I have had my heart broken once or twice. Badly. By some pathetic loser by the way. Lucky for me, I'm a quick learner. I made ridiculous mistakes of cosmic proportions and learnt a thing or two.

Are you willing to risk a greater degree of pain and disappointment for a higher level of joy, satisfaction, and emotional fulfillment? Every choice in life has tradeoffs. We carefully weigh the possible outcomes, assess our willingness and tolerance for risk, and then make a choice based on our perceptions of the outcomes.

We grow in love and in relationships through our mistakes. We do not grow in isolation or in theory.

This power struggle is a turn off. I have heard it many times from different men. Why do we always want to prove to men that we are smarter, tough, and independent? Why keep score?

After researching numerous books and attending seminars on effective relationships I have found that the following behaviors are pretty consistent in relationships that last and are filled with love, happiness and friendship. Yhey are and in no particular order of importance.

One of the common marriage problems, which often materialises early on in a relationship, is boredom. Couples often find that after the honeymoon period is behind them and they have settled in to married life it isn’t quite the constant bed of roses that they imagined it to be.

Having a relationship or being married is actually the same in relation to women's expectations. Women want their partner to behave in a certain way and also expect from their partner to understand their point of view, agree and next time act without needing any guidance from their part.

If it's true you can't judge a book by its cover, that also applies to meeting people. They aren't always what they seem.

If you are in a relationship and things have seem to taken a turn for the worse, you may feel confused, frustrated and betrayed. If the other person in the relationship has not quite broken up with you, but has taken the relationship down a few notches, you may be tempted to do quite a few things in an attempt to improve the situation. It is important to understand why you feel this way, learn the correct method of dealing with the turn of events and discover how you can cope with the feelings you are having.

Intimacy is a combination of four aspects of a person; the physical, emotional, intellectual, and the spiritual. Most relationships will fall into one or two of these intimate aspects.

Losing your castle can either be really great or really traumatic depending on how ready you are for what's ahead. The transition from bachelor pad to love nest has been and can be survived with the proper planning and understanding.

It takes an incredible amount of courage to be the newcomer and to strive to become one of the herd.

In a newspaper last November 25, there was article about observing an International day for elimination of violence against women. It is heart-warming that finally the international world is starting to recognize that violence against women is a growing issue and they need to find a solution to it but after pondering this issue for quite some time I came to the following conclusions:

What did I do to deserve this? I'm a good person I don't go out and try to hurt anybody on purpose. Why Does He Hurt Me?

Anger is the natural reaction of helplessness and frustration. When we feel that we are being forced to suffer, we get either angry or feel very helpless. When we feel victimized, we get angry with our abuser. What about your relationship? Are you getting angry with your partner for any reason? Can we quiz on that?

I used to paint when I was young. I was a dancer. I loved hiking. I loved outdoor sports and so it goes on. I used to be is the common theme. I have forgotten about all that, because my partner does not like that?

My first-hand experience with long-distance, cross-continental, Internet love! (It ain't pretty, but I survived).

Women are not unapproachable. Learning how to read the signs that women carry around makes it easier to make that first step. Because women are only people too.

What happens in Eastern Europe stays in Eastern Europe. Or does it? One lucky stag spills the beans on his stag weekend in Tallinn, Estonia's thumping capital.

Remember that the other person you're involved with is not you. So, how do the ways he or she is different from you make your life easier, more fun, better?!