I misread a t-shirt on a young and attractive man at the gym the other day, thinking that he was advertising his best qualities with the above words on the back of his t-shirt.

Great Qualities in a Partner/Spouse

While the actual words on the back of his t-shirt were, “Inspirational Self-Reliant Communities,” I liked my mis-reading better.

For the blog readers looking for a relationship, I would highly recommend looking for these qualities.

For the blog readers looking for a relationship or already in a relationship, I would highly recommend working on these qualities in yourself.

Being supportive and inspirational in a way that truly supports someone else can be extremely difficult and can also bleed into the less-desirable qualities of manipulative, co-dependent, cloying and/or smothering.  Finding ways of inspiring another requires an intimacy and presence that is not often seen in this world of a million distractions.

Self-reliance is one of the characteristics of others that I find most appealing.  Even if you’re emotionally needy, you can own your neediness in a way that is attractive and shows others you know how to get what you need for yourself.

Complete is similar to self-reliance, in that you know you don’t need someone else to fill in your missing parts…you are full and complete on your own.  One of my least favorite expressions is “other half.”  Whenever someone asks me where my other half is, I always reply that I only have an other whole.  I know that I’m 50% of a relationship, but I’m complete and distinct by myself as well.

Seeing this man’s t-shirt and misreading it, I realized I still have a long way to go to achieve my new ideals.

Current Knitting

Since my last blog entry on Wednesday, I’ve been able to complete two more West Coast Watchcaps, and start a third.

And they’re doozies…I love the deep, smokey colors of the hats with splashes of bright colors.  Between now and next weekend, I hope to make a few more of these quick-gift hats and hope they sell like hotcakes.