Oscillating between Love and Lust

Mon, 09/14/2009 - 23:07 —Swati

When human beings find someone magnetic, they become more complex than usual while expressing the emotion of love. The stage in which a romantic relationship is determines the style of love that the parties share. In addition, the individual traits of people also play a crucial role in deciding the best style in which they can correlate. If Having similar love styles makes people more compatible.

Platonic
This type of love, more commonly known as ‘friendship,’ is not exactly ‘love.’ There is no desire for physical intimacy associated with this kind of a relationship. Also referred to as ‘philia,’ this form of attraction occurs when you find someone having a commonality with you. It could be an activity that both the partners are interested in. Factors such as the involvement of one party in a committed relationship, different sexual orientations and shyness repress physical attraction between two such people. When friends graduate to a romantic relationship in which staying together as a couple makes sense, it is called storge love.

Eros
This form of love refers to the initial attraction when you find someone with bodily beauty. Also interpreted as lust, this sensual type of love focuses primarily on the physical part of things. However, this does not imply that it is a "sex only" relationship. Erotic love has been portrayed in many classics. It involves a beautiful couple who are in love, with the sensuality giving strength to the romantic relationship. Often, this is related to the Ludic style of love, where love is more of a game that people play for the fun part of it.

Agape
Considered the supreme form of love, Agape is unconditional love. More of a Christian virtue, it is supposed to be the self-sacrificing love that God shows towards his men. The earthly examples include a mother’s love for her children. While it can be expressed through intimacy, generosity is another way of showing this type of love. Agape lovers are often seen as people who can be taken advantage of as they can give up anything for the person they love.

When you find someone, understanding his or her love style can help in adding character to a romantic relationship. It is important to know how a relationship can add value to your life in the optimum way.