Ahhh... love! It's what we all seek. Even those who already have it are continually seeking ways to keep it. But what is love, really? How can we know that what we're feeling is not infatuation? What's
difference? If you are currently in a relationship or if you hope to be in one, this is a very important question. Distinguishing this difference can be very challenging since we can't see love, we can't weigh or measure it to see how great or small it is. And if you are highly psychic, making distinction can be even more challenging because you may naturally feel as though you "know" person. But if we want to have happy, healthy relationships, we need to identify our feelings accurately.
Infatuation is like a drug, or a form of madness. You are taken over by a whirlwind, you are consumed by thoughts of other person and nothing else matters. Your life suddenly revolves around this person and you want to spend every waking moment with him or her. You are in a dream, dizzy with bliss. True love, on other hand, is more a sense of friendship and respect.
The surest way to distinguish love from infatuation is to give your relationship test of time. But while you are waiting for time to tell, there are things you can watch for. Here are 10 questions that can help you evaluate your feelings:
1. Can you be open and honest with your partner without fear of rejection? Are you able to be yourself? Or do you hide your weaknesses and try only to show your strengths? When you truly love another, you don't concern yourself with impressing your beloved. Rather, you are more interested in serving your lover and you know that is easier to do when you are honest.
2. Can you accept ways in which your partner is different from you? Infatuation is self-centered, thinking primarily of how other person makes you feel. With infatuation, you see other person through "rose-colored glasses." But real love is rooted in reality and acknowledges imperfections of another without judgment. It has a deep respect for other's individuality. When you truly love another, you want to know what makes that person tick, why they do what they do, why they think what they think. With love, faults and weaknesses of other person are recognized and accepted.
3. Are you able and willing to discuss your differences with your partner? If you are your own person with your own thoughts, you will experience differences. Can you communicate about your disagreements lovingly? Can you "fight fair?" Love can step out of its comfort zone in order to address differences in a relationship without harming it. Some of us have been taught that if you love someone you'll never disagree, never be angry or argue. Real love encompasses all emotions. The opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference. And it's possible to be angry with, and even hate someone that you love. A healthy love relationship will allow you to express anger.
4. Do you care about other person's, dreams goals and plans? Do you desire his or her success? To love is to be actively involved with a person's spiritual purpose. It is choice to give support, nurturing and encouragement to your beloved's spiritual growth and attainment. Real love seeks what is best for others and makes us want to encourage them to grow. It considers other person's happiness and well-being. With true love, your partner's well-being is just as important to you as your own and you take actions to nurture that sense of well-being.
5. Can you see yourself going through mundane motions of life and growing old with your partner? Infatuation is attraction, admiration, adoration... and is mainly based on physical, or chemical connection, while real love is based on spiritual connection - a common spiritual understanding and shared purpose. It wouldn't matter if your lover lost a leg, gained 300 lbs. or got burned in a fire. With true love, you are attracted to much more than just physical. You are attracted to soul of person. You want to see into your beloved's heart as much as you want to touch him or her physically.
