"How Do You Know?"

A friend asked me today, “How do you know when it is lust or love that you are feeling about someone?” WOW! It’s an extremely interesting question and one I have asked myself on rare occasions, but never really give it much thought, until now. I will try my best to answer her question from my perspective.

More often than not, lust arises above the horizon first, knowing that the eyes are the initial impression maker. We usually see before anything else and the messages we receive are interpreted in our minds. Thoughts ranging from, “Wow! Nice asset!” to “I would sure like to tap that”, creep into our minds. It’s pretty much human nature to have such thoughts about someone, but I must add that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Lust is usually temporary until the next eye candy strolls by or even the last one come by again. It’s a thought of an action.

Love is different in that it is more opposite of lust than most may think, yet similar in a lot of ways. Love at first sight is possible but love usually takes time to gestate, if you will. It grows as we learn of each other but it can also wither for the same reason. Love is an emotion that comes from the heart, whereas, lust comes from the mind. At this point, I dare say you can definitely have both in a healthy relationship, and I find absolutely nothing wrong in that.

Lust can be fleeting when love can make your world go ‘round. What has gotten me into trouble is denying what I already knew to be the difference between the two. So with all this being said, the bottom line is I know what I want in a relationship and that in itself allows me to know when it is lust or love.