The Distance

       As I sit back and ponder on my last relationship, my mind begins to wonder. One of the main stigmas on our relationship (and I’m pretty sure many others everywhere) was “the distance”. All ladies have unfortunately been devastatingly familiarized with it. When the person we are fully invested in suddenly withdraws from you, thus causing a huge vague gap between the two of you, “the distance”.
        My mind now jets back to May of this year. I read an article in Cosmopolitan Magazine (a magazine I’ve never been a fan of) entitled “Your Secret Love Weapon (It’s Called the Rubber-Band Effect)”. This article too was in reference to the all too familiar “distance”. And while this article was surprisingly stimulating (b/c as I stated earlier I’m not a fan of Cosmo so I expected to be completely underwhelmed) it was also slightly alarming. This article strategized “the distance”. As if relationships are to be calculated and logistical rather than dealt with using emotion. I mean there is nothing wrong with being rational, but step-by-step plans to expedite and/or exterminate “the distance” phase in a relationship is kind of much.
      I mean, maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic and not up to date, but is that what our relationships have come too? Women work to entrap our men by being calculated and baiting then through the mastery of methodology  while men hold no accountability what so ever? Shouldn’t two people be responsible for the success of a relationship; not just one? Lack of communication and “the distance” are okay (understood/conventional) as long as one counterpart in the relationship works day and night to convince the other they should stay? And if that’s the case, how should one be confident in the very fundamental value of love when now all love is, is tactic, trickery and methodology? How can a person know someone is actually in love with them when it very well could be they were just coerced by good skill and tactic that someone executed to win them over? How do you know if a person is in the relationship because the actual feeling, or if they’re just whooed by a person doing “all of the right steps” and decide to stay because it’s comfortable?
      We’ve all heard the phrase love is a battlefield. But should it be a game of chess where the most crafty player wins?