Turn of the 20th Century British playwright George Bernard Shaw had a very famous long-distance affair via the mail. Whilst staying married to his wife, Shaw exchanged passionate love-letter with Mrs. Patrick Campbell, a widow and actress is one of Shaw's famous plays, Pygmalion. While the couple never had an offline love affair, they remain strongly linked in the minds of many as one of history's most romantic and dedicated couples.

For years their affair lasted through the help of Royal Mail. As slow as mail traveled in those days, it's a wonder that neither lost site of their passionate love. They would wait weeks or months for a response to their letters. And in those days, responses weren't jotted in a quick email, spell-checked and edited. Instead, letters were finely crafted with poetic language and days of careful though. “Intentional” is a word that can most appropriately describe the communication that had to occur via the mail system in those days.

In the modern age of high-tech computers and other gadgets, we can compose and deliver an email in mere seconds. Where it once took months to deliver an opinion or verdict, we can now respond in real-time to a partner thousands of miles away. While communication a century ago was intentional, communication in this day and age can often be described as rather sloppy.

As an era comes to accept the newest forms of communication, certain nuisances of language and affection get put aside from the high-speed connection that we learn for. As such, we run the danger of not only relaying an opinion that may not be based in fact, but we also can spread ill-will and falsities in a fraction of a second, leaving no time to even consider the repercussions.

While the Internet does make long-distance relationships enhanced through connectivity, it could detract from the level of emotion that we allow ourselves to feel when it comes to certain communications and relationships. When was the last time you thought for months about a response that you were looking forward to receiving? Do you truly take the time to let yourself anticipate love and all of the small tokens of affection that accompany it?

When Shaw wrote to Campbell, you can believe that he understand that she would hang on each of his words as if they were the last she would ever hear from them. Likewise, each word he crafted had to be formed with the richest of intentions using only the finest language he could possibly construct. The value of words was far greater in the days when words were scarce and communication required great lengths.

From Shaw and Campbell, modern Internet daters can learn a great deal about the struggles and passions that contribute to a well-rounded and meaningful relationship. While maintaining a long-distance relationship is difficult on anyone, focusing your energy on your love can help to make your time apart seem much fuller and enriching than constant communication. Take a week or two to practice the meditation that was required of Shaw and Campbell. You might be pleasantly surprised by the up-springing of positive emotions that come from your connection together … and subsequent time apart.