The Path To Developing Love
We all experience love at some point in our lives. For many, it is the most important relationship in their lives. For others, love is just a passing emotion that passes and is forgotten very quickly. Regardless of how you feel about love, it is something that is worth reflecting on and appreciating for its positive qualities when you do come face to face with it.
Romantic love is a strong set of feelings and behaviors typically characterized by passion, intimacy, commitment, and emotional support. It usually involves close caring, affection, sacrifice, intimacy, respect, and trust in another person. Romantic love can range from a light, “just friends” type of feeling to an intense, “I am in love” feeling. People who fall into this love state are attracted to the energy of another person and are drawn toward them. This form of loving is different than sexual love because unlike attraction that focuses on attraction, people in this love state are most often looking for a responsible partner who they can share a deep connection with.
There are also other ways to experience love such as sexual attraction or lust. When these two feelings combine with the need to have or receive physical contact, it can be confusing to differentiate between the two states. While the sexual attraction is considered to be a form of love, it can be fleeting and not always based on true feelings. Lust is considered to be a more natural kind of love since it is not based on anything more than a desire to have the person of your choice.
Regardless of whether the feelings for another person are based on physical attraction or a deeper emotional connection, two people develop chemistry based on feelings when they spend time together. In a long term relationship, these feelings may become so strong that they develop into a romantic attraction. It is not uncommon for long term lovers to be falling in love with one another without ever having any physical relationships. It is not uncommon for this same situation to arise in friendships as well.
Love is not always based on feeling things but can be developed through sharing and intimacy. Sharing intimacy comes in two forms. It can be developing an emotional closeness that can lead to feelings of love or developing a physical closeness that can lead to sexual attraction. While sharing intimacy can be very natural within a long term relationship where one person feels emotionally attached, having sex can often distract from this bond that is being created.
In order for relationships to develop feelings of love, an individual must find someone to be loving to or having a deep connection with. A great way to do this is to allow yourself to be loved by another person. All too often, individuals experience unloving feelings and develop a negative self image. You must let yourself love someone else in order to develop true loving feelings towards them. While you will need to make time for this type of relationship, the effort will be well worth it in the end. After all, loving someone and having them love you back are two very different things.