Single Again "What's Your Prize?"

By: Kenneth Stepp

Cracker Jack boxes have one. So do all the game shows on TV. What is your definition of a prize? The number one goal in your life? Your prize? Is it stuff or something more substantial? Is it a living situation? A lifestyle? A person? Chances are. You already know. Maybe, like me, you are forming one now.

“The highest prize in a world of men is the most beautiful woman available on your arm and living there in her heart loyal to you” - Norman Mailer

There are knowns and unknowns in about my prize. The knowns. She will be my forever love. She is smart, strong, independent, open minded, non judgmental, and kind. On the table are looks, temperament, size, etc. She may even surprize me in some areas. I hope so. I am a bit of a free spirit. So, that will make it harder for me to fit on a girls list. I am a little bit of a mess.

If you are a girl, been single any amount of time, and have dated. You have a list. Maybe it isn’t an exhaustive one. But you have one. Everyone that is looking at all. Has a list. The only reason mine is written down is that I am a writer and write an over 40 dating column. It comes with the passion I guess.

Being a writer has some wonderful perks. Emails aren’t one of them. You should see the length of some of mine. I can;t stop writing sometimes. I try to keep it brief. I just can’t pull it off. Writing is a two edged sword. It’s a free country, we can say anything we want, when we want, and where we want. Writing it down is documenting a moments thought. Sometimes, those words have a price to pay down the road. It may be as small as being unfriended on Facebook. Or have me in court for libel. Freedom has it’s price.

No goal is so noble than the search for true love. This is my prize. The picture might change a bit. But the goal stays constant. I want forever. I am still starry eyed, and believe in the fairy tale ending. I’ve been crushed, beaten, and confused. But, this goal is the only one I care to pursue. Nothing less is good enough for me. I am worth it. I am a keeper. She will be too. Love, the real thing is addictive, and as Bruce Lee says, a pretty fire.

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.” - Bruce Lee

Deep-Burning and unquenchable. I remember love like this. It is natural for anyone that has experienced real, unconditional love to want it again. The unfortunate people that have never shared this with another can’t really understand it. It can look odd to those that see it as obsession and passion. On the outside, that is what it is. But inside, that flame burns for another for another, not for themselves. This is a phenomenon I am still struggling to understand fully. I know it to be real. I have lived it. I live it today. Love is beyond ourselves. Spiritual is all I can come up with. THAT… That is my prize. That is my goal. What is your prize?

k@kstepp.com

Founder, American Angel Works