There are so many questions on here that pertain to love.

 How do you get it? How do you keep it? How do you know if it is real?

I will be the first to admit that I am not the brightest penny in the jar, but this, I do know. I know about love, because I had failed so miserably at it a lot of times! It took a lot of looking at what I had done wrong to figure it out.

How Do You Get Love?

Well this is the easy part. Love is everywhere! Attraction is everywhere! I am not one of those people who believe that there is only one person for everyone. What would the odds be of finding love if there were only one? The odds of finding your "Soul Mate" were there only one, would be about, let's say...NONE! You would have better odds playing the lottery or slot machines.

But, luckily, love comes in every shape and size and it is all around. So, the odds are now in your favor.

However,love can be a tricky 'lil devil because it seems that if you are actively seeking it, it will not find you. It is when you are least expectingit that it hits you like a freight train. So, getting it is the easiest part.

How Do You Keep It?

First of all, you cannot "keep" love. Love stays by choice. It is something that needs to be nurtured in order for it to grow, it also needs to grow in order to sustain life. Without nurturing, it dies, and without allowing it to grow, it is then,stifled and stunted.

The way to keep love, is to learn to let it go. I know this sounds like a lesson in stupid metaphors, but this is true. You cannot bind or tie love to you at all times. Love needs to be able to go out with its friends, to go on a trip alone, to do the things it did before you came along. Just as you need those very same things.

So many times, a good potential relationship is snuffed out because someone has to try to control it. How many have lost love because they were too suspicious of what was happening behind their back and wouldn't "allow" love out of their sight? How many have lost it over jealously? The very thing that you fear will happen if you just "let go" happens, because you wouldn't allow it to grow and turn to trust.

If you are the person, which most people are, that try to tame it, clip its wings, control it, reshape, change, manipulate, stifle, suffocate it or have major trust issues, you will first need to work on yourself... you need to love you, before another can.

So now you know the a b c's, the x y z's are easier.

How Do You Know if it is Real?

This question is a lot like being asked if you have ever experienced an orgasm. If you have to ask the question, chances are you haven't.

Real love is not what most people expect. It is a full time job with overtime. People think they need to be feeling the feelings they were in the very beginning. When the fireworks have stopped and the "Feeling Good" Train has stopped at the depot, that is when the work begins, but that is also when most people get on another train, because they don't understand that now is where your relationship really begins:

True love is the total acceptance of another. Yes, even though they have habits, rituals, and pet peeves that don't mirror your own habits, rituals and pet peeves.

 True love is supportive of another no matter their hopes and dreams, it is encouraging them to pursue their aspirations and helping them learn to fly on their own.A complete sharing of selves,and telling the truth even when it hurts.

You will know true love when you watch time crease that other persons face, and silver their hair. When you have helped them in sickness and in health just as they have for you. Youth may be gone, and bones may creak, but to look at them makes you fall in love with them all over again.

See. No magic potion or spell, no crystal balls or rabbits foot. True love is there for anyone to have if one wants to work on it.