Most people go through the experience of living away from their love ones at some point of time in their life. Work pressure, family commitment, or studies are common reasons to separate the couples.

This situation is unavoidable as each one of us has to fulfill certain commitments. With passage of time new means are being discovered to make long distance relationships work. How many of you write letters any more? The world of long distance has graduated to cell phone and Internet chat which are faster and more effective way of keeping in touch.

Communication is not the only field where things have made progress. Today there are books and magazines which discuss the pros and cons of long distance relationship in detail and give advice on how to maintain theses relationships. Internet is full of sites which has a long list of tips on the topic.

There are various articles which tell you that communication, trust, plan to meet, holidaying together, sending gifts, and not to take each other for granted are the tried and tested formulas which work toward maintaining a long distance relationship.

Can such formulas be truly effective in making the relationship work? Here we are dealing with human beings and their complexities. Each relationship is unique in its own way.

The ideas and tips work to a certain extent but each relationship has its own way of working out the differences if it arises because of the distance factor. Living in separation is not a modern day practice only. Wives of merchants and soldiers had to live apart from their husbands for a long time in olden days. Their relationships worked fine without the modern means of communication or ideas.

The couples in long distance relationship has to work hard to keep the relationship going as the physical factor is missing that is important to sustain a relationship. The level of commitment and a desire to be a part of each others life is very important.

Ask yourself 'Can I live without him/her?' If the answer is 'no' from both then they will find their own way to keep the relationship going. If the answer is anything else you need all the help you can get.

Being sure of the relationship and the urge to make it work is what sustains a long distance relationship. How to do it is a completely personal choice!

The only thing that you have to understand is what works for your relationship and change with the time because even relationships change. A wise person would be more open to changes to make the relationship stronger.