Almost 40

Every. Single. Person. In the WORLD. Has had a very. VERY. Bad relationship.

Either a bad relationship that ended ugly, or was full of lies, or was abusive, etc. I am lucky to have learned this early. I'm sorry you are forty and no one told you this?

My point is: bad and failed relationships are a part of life. EVERYONE (i mean EVERYONE) has trust issues. Stop thinking you're the only one and that the world is out to get you. You're the only reason why you haven't met the right girl yet. I'll be realistic and tell you that you may have already missed her - maybe not. But dont dwell on it. Just keep moving forward and maybe another opportunity will present itself. Hopefully you take it this time.

I feel its important to be able to find meaning in life without being in a relationship. Then, if that someone comes along, its icing on the cake. And if that person never comes along, life can still be wonderful.

When we start to think that what we don't have is what we need, in this context, it can lead to some pretty dark places.

And, there is the "brutal truth" that not all of us are going to find someone to be with in that way. But, there is so much more to life! We just have to figure out what that can mean to us individually.

All the feel-good stories tend to focus on overcoming short term difficulties and I think this creates a false sense of reality in many ways. The truly strong individuals aren't generally the ones that deal with some temporary hardship. Some are those that live on through hardship that never ceases, but that doesn't fit into the fable narrative, so it rarely makes its way into our cultural story.

It may seem disconnected, but it leads to the idea that we all get some fairy tale story. And that if we don't, we should just wait for it instead of making our own way and story. It can be quite the trap.. and if we fall into it, we can end up looking for meaning and purpose in all the wrong places.