What does it take to make a really great relationship? I've been searching for the answer. I don't want my next long-term relationship to be a repeat of my lousy marriage. Drawing on my previous experiences with marriage and dating, I've come up with the following list of ingredients. I believe all of these  will be present in any good relationship.

It is important to be able to look at your partner with admiration, and treat him or her with respect. Think of how you would treat a respected teacher or mentor. Would you criticize or insult her? When partners in a romantic relationship respect one another, their speech and actions toward one another will reflect that.

Trust is not just important, it is essential. Both partners need to be completely honest with one another as trust is not  given, it is earned. Once earned, it must be maintained. Trust  can be easily lost. It takes just one lie or deception to  destroy a partner's trust, and it can be very difficult to  regain. 

Love is a funny thing. It grows with the relationship. It starts out as like. You enjoy spending time with someone at first, and eventually they find a way into your heart. You look forward to each meeting, and dread being apart. You think about one another constantly when you can't be together.

Yes, physical attraction is important. What will your sex life be like if you don't enjoy looking at one another? Not very fulfilling! It's possible to respect, trust and love someone, yet feel no desire for them. That person will make a great friend, but a less than satisfactory partner for a long-term relationship.

Of course, for any recipe to work, you have to mix it all together. Start with one man and one woman, add a lot of respect, a bunch of trust, at least a bit of love (it will keep growing so it's OK to start small), then throw in a dash of chemistry and live happily ever after. See, fairy tales do come true! Don't they? I guess we'll wait and see.

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