Please join us in welcoming Owning Pink's newest blogger, loveologist  and author Wendy Strgar.  *Claps wildly*

“The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of this planet.”  -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The life of the heart is one of contradictions. It is where our greatest strengths are often our most profound weaknesses. Finding balance between seemingly opposing forces or feelings is key to finding balance in love. I can’t think of any two more complementary forces for love than the capacity for vulnerability and the experience of confidence. Consider each one on its own: The confident but invulnerable heart can be brash, ego driven and unavailable. The confidence does not serve because it is not tempered. The vulnerable insecure heart is pitiful, full of self doubt and starts to resemble childlike dependence. It is easy to see how the vulnerability of childhood is easily confused with its more mature adult version.

The high of the holiday season is over, and we’ve now moved into a far less festive time of year – cold and flu season. But we’re fighting disease with all we got – we take preventative action. We wash our hands often, drink orange juice, take immunity supplements, and get flu shots.

Shouldn’t we do the same for our general health?

I have a confession. When I first came across Owning Pink last spring, I was turned off. Not by the content, but by the color. I’m a tom boy. Not a girly girl. I was the little girl that refused to wear pink. My mother was resigned to paint my room yellow because I wasn't doing pink. My theme song is Dar William's "When I Was a Boy." Like her, I would much rather climb a tree or play in the mud than be caught in pink. Own Pink? Own Purple maybe, but not Pink.

Photo credit: A.Schwin

Several weeks ago I had two strangely juxtaposed relationship experiences that really helped me to shed some light on my current quest for love. I realized that I’m done with dating guys who are just around, available, and interested. I’m done with the wining, whining, and dining. I’m done having a relationship that I know isn’t going in the direction I want it to go, just for the sake of having a relationship at all. As my life coach, Brian, reminds me on a regular basis, “You get what you settle for.”