Love, Sex, Money, Time and Distance

Alrighty, what do you think of the title?  Perhaps it's strange that I'm writing about this now, since this is such a break from what I usually blog about.  But on the other hand, I think it's about time I write about it.  Truth is, I once was married.  We've separated since and had our ill-fated union annulled, but the words she left me as to the reason why we didn't work out haunts me to this day.  She actually mentioned just three: love, sex, and money.  2 out of 3 is okay, she said, but we only have 1 out of 3, so it wasn't worth the effort.  I've taken the liberty of adding the fourth and fifth: time and distance.  I've realized that most, if not all, relationships fall by the wayside due to these 5 factors, and I've decided to just tackle them today.  IF by any chance you think I'm wrong, feel free to call my attention.

LOVE.
So, what about this general term?  Let's not mince words, I'll put it in bullet form.

• fell out of love
• fell in love with somebody else
• too little
• too much
• not in love in the first place (situational)

SEX.
Ahh sex.  So good, yet so bad.

• too little sex (usually for one of the parties involved)
• too much sex (again, usually for one of the parties involved)
• having sex with somebody else
• no sex at all (no more attraction or too much anger that the intimacy is lost)
• unsatisfactory performance of one or both parties (when one or both won't give in to the desires and wants of the other for satisfaction, assuming it's reasonable)

MONEY.
Money makes the world go round.  And relationships last, apparently.

• too little money (it's always more is better, yes?)
• no money! (supposedly, husband is lazy and not doing enough to make money... You expect the wife to work?!? No, they're for staying in the house looking all pretty and taking care of the kids - with a nanny and maids, of course)
• no money!! (where's the future in a relationship when the guy can't even afford the finer things in life eh?)
• NO MONEY!!! (you can't even get married the right way, don't expect to hold on to a relationship)
• lots of money (maybe in some VERY rare circumstances only, if any)

TIME.
What competes for his/her time? 

• family, work, friends, hobbies
• iPAD, smartphone games
• Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare 

DISTANCE.
Distance is not only a physical separation, but can also be emotional, spiritual, and mental.

• differences in opinion (pride on who's right)
• spouse is abroad
• differences in religion, upbringing, beliefs
• differences in education (boredom might set in)

There you have it, my 5 main reasons why relationships fail.  There might be subsets, but these, in my opinion, are the real culprits.  LOVE is a category all its own actually, since falling out of love might be a result of a lack in the other 4 reasons, or it just happens that even though everything else is perfect, you just lose it.  The other 4 are things you can do something about (be more open-minded about sex, work harder, don't spend too much time with other friends, etc.) but if love fades, it's game over anyway.

The real reason why I wrote this is to acknowledge the power of these factors in my life.  And because I'm bored and I want to write a new blog post.

See you next time!
- jon