Man, you’ve just eloquently identified an issue I have faced so many times in the past — that there wasn’t room in my life for my writing and a relationship.

For years, I struggled with that fork in the road, often choosing a relationship at the expense of more important projects. Seems like the best course, right? People over projects?

But I would find that I resented the relationship for what I chose to give up for it, and ultimately it undermined it, and I’d come out the other side with neither books written or a healthy partnership to show for having made the sacrifice.

I came to believe there was a painful either/or choice, that I could not have both. This was fear and pessimism.

Now, I made the opposite choice from you because I wasn’t married, but what’s interesting is that I arrived at the ability to do BOTH, well, just as you have — by a different route.

How interesting… For me, by making my work a priority, I actually manifested a life that makes me a better lover — by working on the Life part, and the meaningful part first.

I had something TO give, something to share, of my own — not making the relationship the “project.” The result was that I CAN have both — that they actually do feed one another. By surrendering to the right priorities, the by-product of that choice was that EVERYTHING else falls into place.

Something else this reveals to me about love — we always have room for more love, we don’t run out of it, and by prioritizing correctly, the destination is not loss of one thing to another, but an easier way to have it ALL.

By the way — how flattered am I to be sitting next to Robert Frost in your recommended reading? WOW! That just made my day!

If your path contains resentment towards losing the other path, then it is not the right path, and you will lose both of your goals.

If, however, you can overcome your resentment and tread a path with love and passion, then it is a good path, and you may just achieve both of your goals. You won’t always achieve both, and sometimes you may still lose them, but you’ll find that the gaining or losing doesn’t matter nearly as much as the experience.

Also, you have one quality that puts you ahead of Robert Frost… I can talk to you.

The reason why you’re next to Frost, who I agree is very good company to be with, is because you are both saying the same thing, just in different ways… and you’re not required reading at high school, which makes you way cooler.

You continue to impress me with the intelligent — logical — focus you bring to metaphysically murky concepts.

Only yesterday I was conducting a reading for someone regarding making a difficult choice between two potential paths — her guides and mine could certainly benefit from your insight…

Robert still speaks to us, as best he can — and who knows, he may be whispering in your ear, man, and envying your blog.

As for being way cooler than required high school reading — Wow! That’s one of the best compliments you could give someone like me…

May some poor disaffected youth of the future one day suffer through our Cliffs’ Notes!