We’ve all been there. All of us have found that special someone for whom we felt something special.
“All found that special someone whom we felt had sunshine streaming through the strands of their hair – the enveloping sensation of what truly is the feeling of bittersweet symphonies as they walked by. Ah, giving oneself away to the very act of clean, wanton abandonment is something of wonder in human dissonance.”
So, how, really, can one define what is love? Or in fact, what is infatuation? Butterflies in your tummy, troubling you till eternity! Sleepless nights! But what, then, is love? And how does it differ from the equally overpowering infatuation of the senses?
1. First off, what is -? Infatuation has been poetically noted to be something akin to being lost in the seas of unreasonable, tumultuous desire.
But what love does is that it settles in, deep through the skin, impenetrable – allowing for a deep set emotion that is more than just lust.
2. Commitment – When taken over by infatuation, it becomes just that – being taken over by a radical change of all consuming instantaneous satisfaction of lust.
Whereas, if a man was to attribute himself as being in love; then, it would mean a lot more than just the stifling, urgent boundaries of sex. The person here – their intellect, their very presence would hold more meaning.
3. Feels like… – Infatuation – the wilderness of an itch or an addiction to be appeased. All consuming – until one finds oneself runnin’ on empty.
Love – Being adrift seas of confidence with the individual’s voice present; a feeling of being dependent on the other individual. Knowing that they’d be there for you in moments of need!
4. Noticeable traits – Symptoms would include indulgence in high risk choices, a perpetual foreboding sense of anxiety, and an overpowering sexual aura towards the intended.
Noticeable traits with regard to love would be an immense agreement to the other, loyalty and overall – a sense of security of being engulfed in the emotion.
5. Timing – Infatuation is all about the fulfillment of the now. Love takes in a period of inevitable ripening, and sticks around longer than that. The former is quite flighty in its sense of allowing the individual to be possessed of it.
6. Distance – If it were to come to the distance between the object in question and the pursuer, the hunt would be one that would require fulfilling much of a constant stimulation.
The French courtesan Ninon de L’Enclos was apt at deciphering exactly what and how long it took for a young maiden to find herself surrendering to the hunt, laid out by the man in pursuit of her. It lead to the rare conclusions that once infatuation has seen to its wear and tear, an inevitability of love could blossom!
If ‘twere love, there would be a sense of holding through even when the people in question were not in near distance of each other.
7. What are you falling for? Infatuation is more often the falling for the image of the person as molded in the safe crevices of one’s own imagination. It is safe, yet indiscreet in that the appeasement of the own spirit would lead to a mighty downfall.
The acknowledgement of the flaws of the other and its grateful acceptance is something that only a person in love could give way to.
8. Feeling of possession – It goes without saying that to want to possess the glorified image of the person in question – a character deemed to one that has been infatuated.
To be able to take on the downsides in a relationship and compromise, only someone who loves would be able to do that.
9. Vulnerability – As only the image of the person is taken into consideration by the person infatuated, they put themselves in a position of extreme vulnerability to disappointment. They are quite malleable to their external circumstances – that more often than not, ends up unfulfilled.
The vulnerability of both individuals in question is something that is taken for granted when committed under love. Transparency is the key.
10. Bottom Line – All in all, the bottom line or rather, what boils down to is – infatuation seems to be built on the shallow pillars of illusion and dream; strongly growing into delusion is something that is not unprecedented.
Love, on the other hand, sees itself growing roots into reality.
Choice and consequence is what must be kept in mind in endeavors of the heart.