I've figured it out, which should come as no surprise to those of you who have already had the pleasure of being enlightened by my brilliant grasp of fat, its effect on the economy, and the failings of the medical system.  One of the greater mysteries of existence can be understood with a single concept, explained with a single sentence.  As with all of my earlier breakthroughs, though, proceeding from the theory to practical application may prove difficult.  That in no way detracts from the true wisdom of the theory.  

It's quite simple really, once you come to think of it.  It's just this:

True Love is loving someone because of his quirks, not in spite of them.

Go back and read it again....meditate upon the point...if soggy towels upon the bathroom floor make you think "I'm going to murder that (Insert expletive here)," you are not in a state of true love.  If the same soggy towels make you smile wistfully, shake your head, and think "Yup, that's my (insert loved one's name here)," then you are at one with your love. 

You see, love is all about accepting your significant other for who he/she is (author's note: I will only use the pronoun "he"  in these situations from here on out  (In light of the fact that men are generally more annoying than women, I will be right most of the time anyway).   I understand that this may prove irksome to some parties, and I apologize.  However, I trust you're intelligent enough to infer that this applies to both genders.  If you're not, well, the fact that I won't explicitly state both genders isn't really your greatest problem, is it?).  If you feel put upon, abused, or otherwise martyred for having "put up" with the shortcomings of your spouse/significant other/love unit (S/SO/LU), then you're manufacturing your own unhappiness.  Indeed, you're setting yourself up to be unhappy on a regular basis.  We're talking habits here.  You KNOW that the irritating behavior is going to recur by its very definition.  People are who they are.   Your S/SO/LU is not likely going to change much in basic habits over time.  Get used to it.  You knew he left soggy towels on the bathroom floor when you got into this living arrangement.  

Rather than wallowing in the negative energy of wishing for changes in behavior, learn to embrace what the irritating behavior really is:  a piece of what makes your S/SO/LU unique.  There is little to differentiate one person from the next, by and large. We all eat, sleep, excrete and (common sense notwithstanding) find a way to reproduce in most cases.  It is merely our  odd habits and peccadilloes that make us individuals.   So while we all eat, it is what  we eat and how  we eat it that makes us stand apart from the crowd.  If your loved one insists on eating hot sauce on every meal put in front of him, he is only asserting that which makes him most uniquely him.  If he chooses not to use utensils while doing so, he asserts it all the more strongly.  If you should reject these assertions of uniqueness on the part of your loved one, you are not simply rejecting his culinary shortcomings, you are rejecting HIM.  It is only through embracing those habits that would make some other person completely batty that one can truly love another.   

This is not a radical notion.  Infants and small children get this kind of unconditional love all the time.  I've seen many a baby throw up on his mother, only to have the mother calmly say "That's OK sweetie...Mommy loves you..."  We're talking throwing up here....and yet I've seen one of those same women rip her spouse a new one for leaving his socks on the floor again....personally, I find the vomit the more offensive of the two, even if the socks do show up more frequently.  

So look at your S/SO/LU in a new light today...learn to love him for those things that make him unique.

And once you've determined that you really are in love, make sure to make plenty of deposits into the Love Bank

As always, I look for your comments