Butterflies flit away in your gut as he walks past you on the street. Your knees buckle from weakness, causing you to "accidentally" trip him. Palms become slippery with sweat as you offer a "Hello, I'm sorry" handshake. A cat pounces on your head and sinks furious claws into your tongue as a compliment to this sexy stranger stumbles out of your mouth.
Yes, the signs of attraction can be sickeningly obvious, especially to those who have the misfortune of slipping on a puddle of your drool. But while attraction and physical chemistry are easily identified, indications of a perfect match are somewhat more elusive. After much research, I have experienced and documented one possibility that could help you in recognizing a love connection.
Finding The One relies heavily on whether or not you believe there is one true mate for every person. If you think pre-destined love is a load of bunk, congratulations! You've just made your quest for love infinitely easier. Should you be in the group who does believe in Mr. or Ms. Right, heaven help you (you'll need it). I fall in the former group. I'm not of the belief that we're only allotted one true love. There are, however, matches that may be more suitable than others.
Humans are in a constant state of evolution. As we adapt to our various environments and rapidly changing fads, personalities and appearances alter as well. Not everyone evolves (or devolves) at the same rate. The person you fancy now may not be The One once he discovers underground industrial music or she moves to New Hampshire for a change of pace. No reason why you can't enjoy his or her company now and nothing stops him from finding a pierced beauty who produces industrial music on the weekend. This is not to say your perfect match has to be identical to you in every way. It helps if a couple differs in several areas- beyond the obvious physical possibilities- in order to keep it fresh and allow for down time from couple-dom. My point is that combining human nature with the fickleness of love makes pinpointing the right person a completely maddening experience.
So, how does one determine if they have stumbled upon the one great love of their life? I prefer the litmus paper approach (if the strip turns blue, your love is acidic and will burn through you until there's nothing left... or is it red? I should've paid more attention in science class and spent less time staring at the cute boy from Illinois who sat in front of me...). While discussing this matter with a friend of mine, she said, "If you can stand his morning breath, your know it's meant to be." At the time, I smiled politely and noted her inaccurate observation. Morning breath is a great excuse for ending a relationship but hardly qualifies as a sign of everlasting love, no matter how fresh.
Searching for love is essentially just like looking for a good pair of jeans. Through trial and error, you try on different sizes of various brands for a flattering pair. Occasionally you can luck out with the first pair you try, but it's so rare an occasion that you may throw it back on the rack just to make sure. The best sign of knowing you've found your match du jour is a simple sigh. Like the sigh after sliding on a pair of jeans without wriggling about, pulling the zipper and fastening the button without sucking in. It is a combination of contentment, pride, and relief. In your pursuit of bells and fireworks, you might have missed this subtle sign of potential permanent partnership.
Now you have a new ideal result to chase after on the interstate to l'amour. Keep in mind that finding and identifying true love is one thing, maintaining it is quite another. Just like the perfect jeans, you'll have to work at making sure they still fit and keeping them free of rips and unfortunate laundry mishaps.
While you continue your search for The One or Mr. Right Now, open your mind and your heart to new possibilities. An unexpected sappy sentiment, but hey, you might as well make the most of your time in the dressing room.
