Some say love...

When in a committed relationship, I would hope to have someone that is honest truly cares about me. I want to be with someone who I can be myself around and not have to worry about changing myself to be more compatible with them. If I an not be accepted for the person that I am, I do not think that relationship will be fulfilling or really have a chance to become a healthy, long term relationship. For example, Bruno Mars' song "Just the Way You Are" explains this perfectly. In the song he says, "When I see your face/There's not a thing that I would change/ cause girl you're amazing/ just the way you are." This is a quality I would like to have in my own relationships because I don't want to feel like I have to be someone I'm not to please someone else. 
Another thing that I want to have in a relationship is being able to know the other person inside and out. A line in Darius Rucker's song "Be Wary of a Woman" that I really like is “She'll make you laugh when you feel like crying." I think this is an ideal quality to have in a relationship because it shows that you care enough about the other person to not only not want to see them hurt, but also know them well enough to know how to help them. 
The next characteristic that I think is important is that love should be easy at times. Yes, there needs to be work put into it, but if there are constant fights then it can never be enjoyable. Maroon 5's song "Sunday Morning" exemplifies this perfectly. The lyrics are "That may be all I need/ In darkness, she is all I see/ Come and rest your bones with me/ Driving slow on Sunday morning/ And I never want to leave." I like these lyrics because they mean that in this relationship they don't need to do anything fancy; they can simply just enjoy each other's company and be happy. I also like the fact that these lyrics imply a relationship with longevity because he is basically saying he wants to grow old together. In  order for a relationship to work there needs to be a possibility for a future. 
A fourth element of love that I hope to experience is that my husband will always want to take care of me. This thinking may be old fashioned, but I don't think as a woman in this time we need to constantly be independent, while it is important that we can take care of ourselves. I don't necessarily want him to lay his life on the line for me, but at the same time I would want him to be concerned about my well-being and wanting to take care of me, and vice versa. A song that is a good example of this is "Parachute" by Train. Some of the lyrics are "I'll open up and be your parachute/ and I'll never let you down." I like this song because it really shows how when in a relationship people will do whatever possible to ensure that the other person is safe and happy.
Finally, love needs to be fun. In order for a relationship to last, it needs to be kept interesting and keep evolving as it grows. "Our Kind of Love" by Lady Antebellum describes this perfectly. The lyrics "What we got is just like driving on an open highway/ never knowing what were gonna find." I think the adventure aspect of loves needs to be present because if you can't enjoy experiencing new things with someone then life will become very monochromatic and boring. 
As far as the quest for a soul mate, I totally agree with the article's view. I believe it is true that people really don't know what to look for. It's impossible to find someone who can fulfill every single need in your life and it is also unhealthy. It is important to look for fulfillment in friends, family, and other acquaintances because it is completely unrealistic to expect to find it in one place. I think this gives people a warped perception of what to look for in a spouse. If someone is truly in love with someone, but does not feel that this person is their soul mate, they could potentially end a beautiful relationship based on such an abstract concept. I believe there is no real way to determine if people are soul mates or not. Because absolute perfection does not exist in this world, there is no way to find a Mr. or Mrs. Perfect. If we set our expectations too high by looking for perfection, we will constantly be disappointed and never be truly happy. Having flaws is what makes us humans. Being able to work together to over come these flaws is what makes a good relationship, not finding Mr. Perfect and living happily ever after because let's face it, that only happens to Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.