“We spend our lives craving it, searching for it, and talking about it. Its meaning is felt more than it is clearly expressed. It’s called the greatest virtue. It’s love. Love is fascinating and complex. Romantic love, in particular, seems to be a beautiful mystery we find hard to explain” South University Education.
You meet someone and you’re attracted to them and there’s so much more that follows thereafter. Falling in love is associated with increased energy, narrowing of mental focus, sometimes sweaty palms, light-headedness, racing heart, and a lot of positive feelings, as stated by experts in this field.
“A person newly in love sees the world through the lens of love and almost everything is tolerable and everything their partner does is delightful” – says Kane, marriage and family therapist
According to the triangular theory of love developed by psychologist Robert Sternberg, the three components of love are intimacy, passion, and commitment.
- Intimacy encompasses feelings of attachment, closeness, connectedness, and bondedness.
- Passion encompasses drives connected to both limerence and sexual attraction.
- Commitment encompasses, in the short term, the decision to remain with another, and in the long term, the shared achievements and plans made with that other person.
As such, love is one of the most profound emotions known to human beings. There are many kinds of love, but many people find and optimize its expression in a romantic relationship with a compatible partner (or partners). For these individuals, romantic relationships comprise one of the most meaningful aspects of life, and are a source of deep fulfilment. Additionally, the need for human connection appears to be innate, the ability to form healthy, loving relationships is learned.
One can also learn about the type of relationship and type of person you’re in a relationship with through shared experiences and behaviour. Everything becomes a classroom. For example, what happens in the bedroom can be a model for many other parts of a relationship; it encompasses consideration, mindfulness, sharing, commitment and selflessness. Sex can become an important factor in a relationship because of this. Another example, if you’re fighting about attention in your relationship, then your sex life might also be an indicator of this. You might still be having sex with someone who just wants to get it over and done with. Essentially, problems persist in different faces until they are dealt with.
Love is more than just a feeling… love on the brain is a physical reality. The mind behaviors from love, produces hormones to support or sabotage love. The key and necessary aspect of relationships/ “love on the brain” is self-awareness, especially when you are interacting with another person in an emotionally charged experience.
To know oneself and to consider another is important.
Ubusha Bami futhi yimi lo – My youth and this is me! ©