thoughts on relationships

Honesty is valued in all relationships.  But does it get to a point where you can be too honest?  Is it okay to be honest if it means judging one's style of living to a point where you want to change them to fit your values?  How far should one compromise? 

Two people rarely have the same values.  Disagreements are bound to arise.  Often, solutions are difficult to find and the problem arises repeatedly.  Eventually a compromise may be sought, but the core values of each person remains the same.  As a result, these values may be seen in other parts of your life.  For example, an unorganized bedroom often indicates unorganization in other areas of life.  Does it come to a point where ones values outweighs one's love for a person? 

Recently, I have noticed that many have been terminating their love relationships with their significant others.  The main reason seems to be that although both individuals claim to love eachother, they feel the need to be single and explore their own path without someone tagging along.  Those who have not yet broken up, have expressed similar feelings. 

Are these break ups really due to their need to explore their own paths or different people?  Or is that all part of it?  The reason for the break up seems to me as a nice way of telling someone that they are not the one... atleast for now.

It's always difficult to find that balance.  I guess there isn't a right or wrong way to do things.  Everything works differently for different people.  It's like a double edge sword, you will lose and gain either way you go.

So what does make or break a relationship?  At what point does one come to decided that the relationship should continue or end?

Is being happy enough? 

When we say, "I love ice cream" or "I love that song", do we really love it or just really like it?  I mean, can you really love ice cream the same way you love your mum and dad?  It seems that there may be degrees of how much you love something... or is there?

I believe the word love as been used incorrectly.  Many use the word love to describe something that they really like and not love.  To me, love is a feeling that so strong that I do not use lightly.  I must admit, I also use the word incorrectly at times, but I am consciously trying not to.

"I love Sushi", "I love the beach", "I love parties", "I love cozy, soft blankets", "I love the feeling of the sun on my skin", "I love the smell of a campfire", "I love feeling the wind blow through my hair", "I love drinking copious amounts of cold, iced water after a well played hockey game",etc...

I say I love these things but really I mean, I enjoy them.  To me, love is a feeling that is rarely achived.  I can't even describe love, but when you feel it, you know it's love.

In the past few weeks, I have found that I have experienced some sort of miscommunication in many areas of my life... between friends and family members, at work and at school.

All this miscommunication has made me question my communication skills.  If only I to were able express myself more clearly, I would get the answers to my questions that I wanted and not the answers to questions I already know... I would avoid fights with my friends and family and I would be at the right place at the right time. 

Many ideas, thoughts and feelings can be phrased differently.  Unfortunetely, one thing may mean one thing to another and something entirely different to me.  When someone understands a concept of another, do they really?