Touch Me Tuesday: Love vs. Lust

Admittedly, this conversation has been had over and over again…this distinguishing between the emotions (and often, the actions) of “Love” and “Lust.” Unfortunately for many, the lessons have yet to be learned.

Let’s start with some basic definitions from the Tariiq Omari Dictionary:

Love Is Selfless; it’s wanting the best for someone else despite how it may affect you.

Lust Is Selfish; it’s wanting the best for yourself, even if that means using someone to achieve those means.

Seems simple enough to understand the difference between the two, right?! And still, they are so easily confused. Believe me, I understand why.

“Love” and “Lust” are both emotions of the heart, not the head…you cannot intellectualize love and you never bother to intellectualize lust. Whether “In Love” or “In Lust”, the expectations you have for someone can just as easily be established as they can be erased. Also, both emotions can cloud the mind, sparking feelings of euphoria…love is truly blind…lust is blinding!

But there’s a HUGE difference between the two that will hopefully stay with you through all of your relationships and more sensual interactions: you may sometimes justify your lust and call it “love”; but you’ll never have to justify your love and you will never  call it “lust”!!!

So, if you’re ever confused about what you may be feeling for someone, do this one simple exercise: close your eyes, take a deep breath, and imagine your significant other living happily with someone other than you. If their happiness makes you happy…that’s love. If their happiness causes you to feel bitter and all you can think about is your own loss, then that’s something entirely different…

3 Comments

  • Tex the Luscious

    (May 31, 2011 - 10:04 am)

    yo kid, I like this so I m going to link it to another page I run with. give you some cred also.

  • Good looking out, cousin. I appreciated that!

  • I truly enjoyed reading this article, it put my focus in a new perspective about love vs lust. I can see how easy it is to confuse the two especially when the chemistry is strong. In reading other articles you’ve written, one distinguishing factor would be the time a man makes for a woman he’s really interested in having a meaning relationship with and just plain having a conversation about what thier relationship is. My mother use to say that what often feels good to you is not necessary what’s “right” for you. BTW, this is a very nice website.

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