Understanding the Two Concepts of Love
The word love is so broad that it encompasses a great number of human emotions such as admiration, respect, trust, affection, worry, friendship, commitment, and passion. Essentially, true love simply means that you possess an unparalleled, unwavering and unbroken fondness and devotion towards your partner in all situations. It is also defined by a physical and emotional bond with him/her which extends far deep, and life with your partner would simply be unthinkable. This is the most basic definition of love.
In order to further understand love even more, it is important to understand the different nuances of this emotion. This way, you will be able to determine what actions you need to do to nurture your romantic love. Although love is often perceived to be a spontaneous emotion, loving actions should be done in accordance to the feelings of the one who is being loved.
Love is often characterized by intense feelings of intimacy, trust, care, adoration and/or passion. Intense feelings of intimacy are actually the very basis of romantic love. In fact, love is defined as “an intense and continuing desire or attachment towards a person or thing”. As such, intimacy is often considered to be the most essential and initial ingredient in creating this kind of relationship.
Erotic or romantic love is often associated with feelings of affection. However, this kind of intimacy is not limited to just sexual attraction. Emotional and intimacy can also be generated through sharing the same emotions, concerns and interests. On the other hand, sexual attraction is usually associated with desires and thoughts. However, these two types of intimacy are actually connected to different levels of intimacy.
When it comes to this concept of love, people tend to be presented with two opposing concepts which are similar but opposite in nature. On the one hand, there is the concept of the “romantic”, or “intimate” relationship. These types of relationships tend to be long term relationships that are characterized by feelings of deep passion, intimacy and an intense desire to spend time with the partner. These are relationships that are mostly initiated and maintained through emotions, feelings and thoughts. On the other hand, there is the opposite concept which is the “monogamous” or “heterosexual” relationship.
Monogamy or the form of having a single partner, on the other hand, is not necessarily based on feelings or intimacy. A Monogamous relationship might start out as a one-person relationship with one person while the other person in the relationship develops feelings and develops intimacy. The basic idea behind a Monogamous relationship is the idea that a couple is not committed to any one person. Although they may have intimacy and might spend time together, they are not committed to each other. If one of the partners develops feelings for another person, this can be a cause for concern because it means that they are not being true to themselves and this is the beginning of what could potentially be a long term relationship.
