By Bubba Thompson
Before she could say a word, I knew it was all over.
I was walking up to see the woman of my dreams. She was standing in the middle of a tree-lined street. It was a starry night and the moonlight was peering through those trees and I was very much in love with her.
I had a ring in my pocket and was about to commit to her forever.
But I could see in her eyes from a ways away, that I was walking into one of the most embarrassing and painful moments in my life. She was in love with another man. I was going home alone. And, of course, the whole thing was going to be on national TV.
Related: 7 Ways to Know If It’s Really Love
How do you recover from this situation? I get asked about it a lot. For those of you who might not listen to a lot of country music there is a great saying from Garth Brooks that “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers”. I had that song playing in my mind for weeks.
My name is Bubba Thompson and I am a cowboy. I have a small ranch where we break in horses and raise cattle in the small town of Geneva, Alabama.
What’s a simple cowboy know about falling in and out of love? I learned a lot from that massive rejection, and from all the letters and emails I received afterwards, so I decided to write about it.
Mainly, I believe the “rules” we all get told do not work. They are rules like how many days to wait before returning a phone call or how long to ignore someone who texted you something nice. These shouldn’t be called rules, they should be called tricks or — even worse — games. And really, how many people have really found happiness by playing these games?
Instead of “rules”, I believe in living life by a code. A code of honesty, respect, dignity and treating other people as you would want to be treated in return.
When I text someone something nice to tell her I am interested, I sure as heck don’t want to wait 7 hours to hear back from her — so why would I do that to someone else in return?
My advice is to keep putting your honest feelings out there no mater what. A cowboy code is when you get bucked off, you get right back on (for more go to www.cowboycodeusa.com).
There have been times I was bucked off laying in the pasture with the wind knocked out of me. One of my partners will ride by and say “cowboy up!” and in our world that means face the pain, and get yourself right back in that saddle.
There are things you can do to get yourself ready for that person to enter your life. Staying honest with your feelings, and staying faithful that there is a special angel out there and a higher plan to bring him or her to you, are ways to keep your mind positive.
And there are ways to keep the communication between yourself and your partner better and more open. Out here, in a cowboy’s world, a handshake still matters. It means you have given your word. In love, your word and your actions are everything.
Related: The New Dating Game
Living faithfully, honestly and being willing to share yourself are the keys to a longer, richer, happiness.
“Cowboy up!” and you will find that meaningful love.
I believe that with all my heart.
Bubba Thompson’s new book “The Cowboy Code: How a lady should be treated and how to get your man to treat you The Cowboy Way” is on sale at Amazon.com or at www.cowboycodeusa.com
