The early stages of romance and dating are when a couple gets to know one another. Through dating you find out each other’s likes and dislikes, favorite foods and pastimes. It’s a time to start sharing more of who you are with each other for deeper understanding. But what if one of you isn’t telling the truth?

Most people tell “white lies” occasionally, others may lie to impress and some are pathological liars who feel compelled to lie all the time. According to experts, there are some ways to spot a liar.

*Eye Contact Normally a person will make eye contact with you at least half of the time during conversation. Looking away during specific parts of a conversation could indicate lying.

*Voice Changes A change in the pitch of the voice, stammering and stalling, or changes in the rate of speech in a conversation.

*Body Language Fidgeting, putting hands over face or mouth, turning away from you and acting uncomfortable.

*Becoming Defensive If challenged, someone who is lying may become extremely defensive and agitated.

*Contradictory Statements Sometimes the person who is lying will make statements that just doen’t mesh, sound fishy or completely contradict each other. In fact, if you think someone is lying, let them talk. Generally they will give too much detail and eventually a liar will trip himself up by saying things that just don’t make sense or ring true.

None of these methods of spotting lies is foolproof. For instance, some people naturally avoid eye contact more than others and some liars will make a point of making eye contact to convince you of their sincerity. You have to trust your instinct and if you feel a lie has been told or that you are being misled, try to establish the facts of the situation. No relationship can survive without trust and a lie can destroy that bond forever.

If you reach the point in your relationship that you are sure that she is “the one”, the next important step is the proposal.

The most important thing to remember about your proposal is that she will tell the story of how you proposed over and over again to all her friends. She loves you now, of course, but you will score some nice points if you make your proposal the kind of story that makes her friends sigh with envy.

Having a little trouble being creative? How about the old “ring in the wine glass” routine? You could propose in a sports arena at half-time in front of the whole crowd and the cameras (but be very sure of her, this one can go wrong).

If you still haven’t thought of anything original, creative and romantic enough to melt her heart, we’ve arranged for a little help.

Visit these links for some fresh proposal ideas along with a few tried-and-true methods.

Good Luck!

Top 6 Most Romantic Ways to Propose

The Best Creative Ways to Propose

Talking of unrequited love, that reminds me of Russell Dalrymple. “Who?” you may ask. Well, he was actually Bob Balaban who played the part of Russell in the Seinfeld series on television.

If I mention that he was the television producer who was going to back Jerry and George in their proposed series about “nothing”, you might remember him. I freely admit that I had to research to find out the name of the character Bob Balaban played but his one-sided love affair with Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is seared into my memory.

There was something innocent and wistful about his puppydog love for Elaine so that, although his story remains funny, it is also quite poignant. To give up everything and join Greenpeace in the belief that Elaine cared about whales, now that is devotion. And to be lost overboard from a tiny boat in pitching seas when trying to stop whalers, well, it is melodramatic but also sad.

Like all of Seinfeld, the story is a slice from life, exaggerated and pushed to the borders of sanity. But it contains that core of truth that all good fiction has. It just might be true, somewhere, somehow…

Clive

Among the stories of Great Romances, there are always those tragic tales of great love that never was.

The song “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt is an ode to just such a tale. Woven into the delicate melody is the deep melancholy of a man who has fallen in love at first sight with a woman he cannot hope to have as his own. He begins almost hopefully, perhaps caught up in those first few moments of heart-stopping attraction:

My life is brilliant
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I’m sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won’t lose no sleep on that,
‘Cause I’ve got a plan.

But the true nature of the situation soon invades his thinking and reason pushes aside those blinding moments when the heart soars.

You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
‘Cause I’ll never be
with you.

It’s a brilliant stroke that the song leaves us never sure if the singer is simply recalling an event or if this was a deep fantasy of an unbalanced man.

Yes, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Flying high,
And I don’t think that I’ll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last ’till the end.

The video clears any doubts as to the depth of his feelings about this woman he has seen only in a passing moment. As he sings the last verse, he removes his shirt and shoes, empties his pockets and lines them up in front of him in a methodical and orderly fashion.

You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in
a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
‘Cause I’ll never be with you.

As the realization of the futility of this love takes over his consciousness, the singer leaps from a high wall into the sea and the last few lines of despair ring out as he hits the water.

You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it’s time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

You’re Beautiful Video - James Blunt