Love
Seen via a link shared by Tamnonlinear:
"Love is a blurring of the distinction between selfishness and selflessness." - cos
I really like this.
My father's definition of love is "The unselfish desire to meet the needs of the love object." And that's a great definition -- but I like the awareness of the first quotation that in loving someone we are aware of doing something wonderful for ourselves as well. When I make my beloved happy, I am joyous. Selfishly, I want the best for him because it increases my own well being. Of course there is also an unselfish, altruistic element. I'm willing to make sacrifices for my beloved, to give without receiving direct gratification. But yes, there is a selfish element to love.
The challenge and beauty of an ongoing love relationship (one of the challenges, I should say!) is keeping those elements in dynamic balance. The beloved should never become simply a vehicle for one's own pleasure.
"Love is a blurring of the distinction between selfishness and selflessness." - cos
I really like this.
My father's definition of love is "The unselfish desire to meet the needs of the love object." And that's a great definition -- but I like the awareness of the first quotation that in loving someone we are aware of doing something wonderful for ourselves as well. When I make my beloved happy, I am joyous. Selfishly, I want the best for him because it increases my own well being. Of course there is also an unselfish, altruistic element. I'm willing to make sacrifices for my beloved, to give without receiving direct gratification. But yes, there is a selfish element to love.
The challenge and beauty of an ongoing love relationship (one of the challenges, I should say!) is keeping those elements in dynamic balance. The beloved should never become simply a vehicle for one's own pleasure.