What is cheating?  THe dictionary describes cheating as:

v.   intr.

1. To act dishonestly; practice fraud.
2. To violate rules deliberately, as in a game
3. To be sexually unfaithful
4. To position oneself closer to a certain area than is normal or expected

I describe cheating as the worst possible thing in the world. o.O  Think about it.  While in  a relationship, cheating is the one thing that you can not effect, fix, remedy, change, work out or ignore.  Now lets dig a little deeper into my definition of cheating.

Cheating on your significant other is wrong.  Period.  No where is it justifiable, okay or correct.  Although I believe there are different versions, or levels of cheating.  Let me describe.  Let’s say the one you love meets another person.  This person is say, at their office.  The start spending time with that person more and more while at the office.  The business trips that this person used to take alone are now suddenly with this other person.  All the while any conversation you have with your loved one is now always resulting in talking about this person at their job.  Now, you can clearly see what is happening from a mile away, your loved one argues with you and tells you how they need to work closely with this person and that you are being crazy and accusing.

Time goes by and more and more you feel the love you had slipping away.  Now the business trips are more frequent and always include trips to bars and late nights.  While your lover is traveling you don’t hear from them but once a day and that phone call is filled with the fun they had the night before and a rushed good-bye because they called you while they were in the elevator or rushing to meet that other person.

To make a long story short, this person ends up leaving.  the how or why they  left is unimportant.  Now your lover comes to the realization that the one they have been traveling with and working with for the past year was more important than you.  they explain to you that the person they spent time with was only a friend and nothing more and now they are ready to work on the relationship they let go of with you.

All the while you have become bitter, hurt and discouraged by what has been happening.  Any attempt you have made to describe what you are feeling results in an argument.  You are constantly being accused of acting untrusting and any time spent with this person results in conversation about the person at the office.

Now they have left and your loved one tells you they were more important, it was only a friendship and that they made this ‘friendship’ more important than the relationship they had with you.

Cheating or no cheating, I classify this as cheating.  My loved one let their attention focus on someone else for so long and now that they are gone, only NOW, are they ready to work on this relationship with me.

When you spend time away, love gets stronger or weaker, that is something we all have to deal with.  We make the decisions,  who and how we interact with others is up to each and everyone of us.

Cheating with your mind is the same as being unfaithful I think.