Slow Down for True Love

Only by taking it slow can you identify those who truly cherish you. If you want a healthy and stable relationship, don't easily accept someone's initial approach.

Some people are just temporarily lonely, others are moved by the moment, and some are vulnerable. At that moment, they particularly need a relationship to fill a void. Once that momentary feeling fades, there's nothing left. These short-term needs shouldn't cost you your heart.

We don't have to be together. If you simply want someone to keep you company and stave off loneliness, then we're fine as we are now. We don't need to enter a formal relationship. We're both free to find the right person for ourselves. Dating inevitably comes with responsibilities.

But if you want me to take the next step and become your significant other, you have to be sure you can accept that love isn't all good. You'll see my flaws. We need to accept each other's emotions, sensitivities, insecurities, and tempers. We both have to sacrifice some of our freedom in exchange for long-term stability in the relationship—the shift from one person going our own way to two people having demands of each other. Are you sure you can handle that?

If you're afraid of not being free, it means you're not ready yet. You can regret it now, before the damage is done. We can pretend nothing happened and still be friends. I won't do anything beyond friendship with you. Similarly, you need to accept that I can be close to others.

But if you're sure you want me, and you're willing to work on this relationship, then we can start with a face-to-face, honest confession!

If you feel pressured, you might not actually be in love. After hearing this, if you feel pressured and want to avoid it, it means you're not ready for a serious relationship; you just want to have fun. In that case, let's just be friends. It's a good thing that I've filtered out someone who wasn't ready. I'm happy and at ease alone, avoiding the ambiguity of getting together and then breaking up so casually. Don't risk my life on a whim.

To all singles out there, taking your time will definitely help you filter out a lot of insincere people.

Thank you for reading!