In this modern age of technology, busy lifestyles, and obsession with consumerism have taken a lot of romance and love out of our lives. The Internet has become a medium to connect with people as everyone is finding it a lot harder to meet one another in ‘real’ world. It has undeniably also become a place of voyeuristic fantasy in realms of sexuality on pornographic sites. What ever happened to true love? Are our priorities so messed up that romance has been forgotten, only to be experienced vicariously through television and movies? The answer is no. Romance will never die; we just have to feed it with our energy.

Around 800 years ago a famous Arabic poet, philosopher and sage named Rumi wrote beautiful love poetry beyond all comparison. I don’t know if there have been many other people in Earth’s history that have thought about love as much as this master. His poems have not been forgotten, and one place you can simply find and read them is on Internet. E.g. www.khamush.com/love_poems.html

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SECRETS TO A STRESS FREE HOLIDAY SEASON By Patricia Twitchell December and all excitement that comes with it can either be one of most pleasant times of year or one of most stressful. Even though holidays are a couple of months away, there are things you can do to make it an extremely pleasant season.

For ten plus years I have owned and operated Just Bears and Stuff, I have been witness to those people who plan ahead when it comes to buying gifts. Then there are those who wait until last minute. Although we love both types of customers, experience tells me those who plan ahead are ones who seem to most enjoy festivities that await them.

If you are planning on buying gifts this year, start with making a list of everyone you will be giving something to. You can write list for both personal gift giving and those people who are more of a professional type relationship.

Once you write list, organize it into two groups. One would be easiest to buy for and other most difficult. Some people prefer to search out most difficult gifts first in order to reduce pressure associated with finding things.

Still others will buy everything at once to avoid going back to stores while there are some people who prefer to do a little bit each time they go out. By having a list and checking off those names you have found a gift for you will quickly see how much you are accomplishing.