Big gulps, huh? Welp, see ya later.

Sometimes, no matter how in touch you may think you are, things hit you by surprise. Getting dumped by the girl you love, losing your job just when you think you are about to get ahead, or even the phone ringing just after you sat down to watch your favorite television show. Life is funny like that. God has a sense of humor...even though most of the time is does not seem that funny to us.

I can't tell you how many times I get blindsided. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe I'm over confidant. Maybe I'm just blind to what's going on around me. Who knows. One thing is for sure in this life: we only have a limited amount of time to make an impression on somebody and we only have a limited amount of time on this Earth. You never know when you are going to miss your last chance or when the straw is going to fall that breaks the camel's back.

When you do face a situation like this; and believe me, you will, there are about a ba-zillion different ways you can handle it. I'm a mover and a shaker. I'm efficient. I want to make a list of problems with a corresponding list of solutions and I want to start the fixing immediately. Others are more emotionally driven. Time is key here. Processing must take place. Rome was not built in a day.

Both tactical approaches (or non-tactical) are equally respectable and equally suitable to resolve a conflict, a heartbreak, an unanswered question. The real challenge is to reconcile the two approaches and find a way to cater to both sides. Some call it compromise. Some call it giving in. I call it neither. Because the final verdict is going to be (ideally) something that pleases both parties...thus it makes sense that neither should sacrifice their preferred method of coping or resolution. The "make-everyone-happy" approach may be a product of the post-modern world we live in, but when it comes to relationships and conflict it just might be the ideal approach. Without it, one side of the conflict is going to feel cheated, and this will carry over in the form of bitterness or negative presumptions. And who wants that, right?

My point is...conflict is like Burger King. You can 'have it your way'. And the sooner we realize this the sooner our problems will vanish, and arguments will turn into conversation, and anger will turn into delight, and the thin line between love and hate will vanish, because hatred will have walked calmly, quietly, and peacefully out the door. Love always finds a way. It always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres...love never fails. Don't hesitate to change, there is an exception to every rule.

I love you. Goodnight.