The Meaning of Love

I asked a friend if I could borrow his post so that I could get a reaction from the "non-myspace crowd". But I, also, am very curious to see what others have to say.

Today, for some reason, I felt the urge to think about love. What is romantic love? Is it something magical? Is there one person in the world that each of us is destined to find? What makes it so special?

Well, here's my take.

Friendship + Sexual Attraction = Romantic Love

Let me explain. Both friendship and attraction are required for the development of romantic love. It could be that, over time, you become sexually attracted to one of your good friends. But more commonly (especially for the guys, I think), you know right away that you are attracted to the girl, and romantic love blossoms as the friendship grows.

I believe that this has surprising implications. Obviously, this view denies that there is anything magical, spiritual, or foreordained about love. It is an entirely human condition with no supernatural explanation needed.

It also implies that in a long relationship, love can wither either through loss of friendship or attraction. Though rare, it seems at least possible that a relationship could continue after loss of friendship if the sexual attraction is strong enough. Much more commonly, though, sexual attraction is lost first, but the relationship stays strong because the bond of friendship remains. I believe that many mature marriages fall into the category of friendship rather than full romantic love.

More controversially, this view accepts the possibility that someone could truly and wholeheartedly love many people at the same time.

So, where does this leave marriage? Before I asked Diane to marry me, I asked myself, "Is she the one for me?" According to this analysis, that is precisely the wrong question to ask. There is no "The One." There are potentially many (and perhaps none) that would be compatible with someone for a lifetime. This leads us to the scandalous implication that polyamory (literally, "many loves") is a perfectly legitimate expression of human feeling.

[Frankly, this belief bothers me a little, and I think it bothers Diane more than a little. This belief leaves out a proper account of jealousy. Evolutionarily, we are a predominantly monogamous species. It is natural for us to feel jealousy when we sense that our partner is attracted to someone else. Is it possible for humans to overcome the predisposition to jealousy? Or are we so hard wired that it cannot be avoided? Is the liberal/hippie ideal of "free love" ultimately incompatible with human nature?]

So...am I on to something here? Or is my point of view undermined because its implications are so radical? Come on, everyone has an opinion about love. Let me hear yours!

Well...

Baseball----Rock and Fire Baby

I'm so glad I have a talented roommate. She made us some really cool t-shirts for the Rangers game this week. Wish I could say the game was my motivation for going, but those who know me, know it is all about the food. Dollar dog night....yummy in the tummy...throw in some cheese fries and my night is made.

Look Out Texas

My family (everyone except the brother) is coming for a visit this weekend and will stay for a few days. Last visit, I didn't get to spend alot of time visiting because I was working, but this time I have 4 days off....let the good times begin.

beep beep

Don't ya just love a good night's sleep..... I woke up rested, beep beep treated myself to a pedicure, bought beep beep a new outfit, and finished a really great book. I'm relaxing beep beep and beep beep waiting for my roommate to return from work. We are going to me some really good friends for dinner (probably Joe T's) and a fun night out with the girls. Beep Beep I get to sleep late tomorrow morning, hang out BEEP BEEP by the pool, and grill some yummy food. I just love it when my friends come to town.
Life on a pager ruins the best of dreams. Don't ya think? If I had my choice of shifts at the hospital, I choose the one that does not summon me with an incessant beeping noise (way worse than an alarm clock).

I can't stress enough ... the pager is not a toy. Please do not page me for the sake of telling me that I have an order anxiously awaiting my arrival. I promise, I'm not playing on the internet or chatting it up with my friends. 30 minutes for lunch, that's it. I will return shortly and be more than happy to attend to anything that needs my attention. beep beep

Don't mean to sound negative. I love me some nurses (Luke, Kristi, Darla, Faith) but pagers are the pitts.

Vocab Word

New vocab word for the day twinkie. Twinkie (a.k.a. twins) it is when 2 people are dressed alike/similar. Examples: two guys wearing red collared shirts (or stripes) =twinkies. Guys may not prefer this terminology, but that does not change the before stated definition.

Home

I know, I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. So, let me start at the beginning.
I spent two weekends in MS at my parents house. The first weekend was a trip to spend some quality time with the family, hang out with the sisters, unwind from a long week at work. Nothing like food and a chick-flick for quality girl time. Megan (on far right) after much deliberation, decided to chop off 10 inches of her hair and donate it it Locks of Love. For those that don't know about this organization, they use the hair for hair-pieces for children suffering from medical hair loss.

This is a picture I took after the first section was cut. I think Megan got a bit unsure about it as she stared at the pile of hair in her hands. I think by the end she realized that she still had plenty of hair left, and she lost about 5 pounds with just a hair cut, not to mention a great cause.
It was a successful bonding weekend with the sisters, and the cutest lil man ever. Meet Gavin, the hardest sleeper in the world. I held him and played with him and he slept through the entire thing.
The second trip home was a very brief visit and was for the graduation of my youngest sister. With only 15 graduates total, it made for a relatively short ceremony. If it had been any longer my stomach might have starting feeding on my internal organs. Fortunately, I don't think my growling stomach drowned out any of the names being called.
Let me leave you with two final pictures from this trip home.
The first is Woo and Sadie, the other is Sadie and I.

just for laughs

This video is best with sound. Sit back and enjoy the EVOLUTION OF DANCE