f a l l i n g . . .

you heard it in the radio... seen in films.. read in  a book...discussed about it.
you felt.......you fought
you cried... you laughed

L O V E

Defined as a warm affection, a deep feeling of attraction.

It is a common topic to talk about, yet still very interesting. Even the coldest, hardest person must have felt it somehow in his/her lifetime.

But how can one truly define love?

Can we truly grasp its truest and deepest meaning? How can we differentiate it with infatuation or lust? Love is so vast and as deep  as the ocean, no matter how  far you go the mystery  remains untouched. 

Let  us try to get a better understanding.

The Greeks defined love in four categories:

1. Agape love is unconditional love. It is love by "choice" even if you are not pleased. A good example is "God loves us with our faults."

2. Philia love is the dispassionate virtuous love, guided by our likes or our healthy or unhealthy needs and desires.

3. Storge is the word for family love and the physical show of "affection", the need for physical touch. Sometimes the love between exceptional friends. 

4. Eros is the physical "sexual" desire, intercourse. It is the root word of erotic, and eroticism.

Now do you  know where you are? : )

Hold on, let's get Physical and Chemical.

Do you wonder why we get sweaty palms, shaky knees and general restlessness? No I'm not talking about  hunger, drug or health issues here  :) ... it is the common symptoms of love... caused by a natural chemical called Phenylethylamine ( hard to pronounce isn't  it? ) well commonly called as  the `love molecule'. It is release from the brain can be triggered from  simple actions like the meeting of the eyes or touching of the hands. Heady emotions, racing pulses and heavy breathing results, and all these are (unfortunately) clinically explained as an overdose of this chemical. A very interesting thing is that chocolate is known to have very high level of this chemical…perhaps that’s the reason why it is considered a perfect gift. (take note people).

Infatuation - this is supposedly the first stage of love.. an unbearable attraction towards someone.  The combination of natural chemicals along with adrenalin makes our world go round, our eyes sparkle and our heart beat faster. Our entire existence then depends on the sight of the person who triggered these reactions to begin with, and as the addiction to the chemical grows stronger, our attraction becomes greater. At this stage we commit foolish mistakes, where the puppy love stories came about.

When infatuation subsides, another chemical takes over, which is responsible for intimate relationships. These chemicals are created by endorphins. They make a relationship steadier, intimate, dependable, warm and a great sharing experience. They do not induce a giddy high, but calmness and stability…hence are the reason why people stay married. The longer they are married, the longer two people stay together, because this chemical is addictive. It is endorphins that trigger grief on a spouse’s death or long separation, those yearnings for togetherness. 

The two types of attachments can be summed up as follows…Adrenaline Love is being in love with the idea of being in love . While Endorphins, we like loving someone.

Hmm now we know why : )

There  are some of humorous signs when someone is falling in love. They vary, of course, from person to person and woman to man. In general they are easy to spot and hilarious to witness.

1. The Dreamy Gaze:

 For men the dreamy gaze is virtually unblinking. As men need to blink far less than women they tend to look like crazed stalkers which may be disturbing to  some. For women they tend to gaze blinking often and slowly giving them a fluttering/ batting eyelashes look.

2. The Goofy Grin:

 Men will make utter fools of themselves when falling in love, and the goofy grin that comes over their faces when they get their lady love to laugh for the first time is priceless to witness. In women it is more like an expression of total rapture. Their skin glows, their eyes sparkle, pupils dilate and they smile ever-so-sweetly, completely unaware how becoming love looks on them.

3.The Breathless Dizzies: 

Remember to breathe, people, especially when finding love. It's rather important, yet it's the one thing we all seem to forget to do when love is in the air. You'd think Cupid was sucking all the oxygen out of the room just to make us dizzy, but it really is us just forgetting to use our lungs.

4.The Nervous Twitch:

 Even the most confident among us have come down with bouts of nerves when we are falling in love. We get jittery, our palms sweat, hearts quicken and clothing somehow feels uncomfortably warm and too snug and all because we really are starting to like that person across the way. We long to be close to them and yet are scared, too.

5.The Perfect Posture is a Sign of Someone Falling in Love:

 Nothing improves posture as well as a good dose of love. Men stand up straighter, chest out, stomach in, shoulders back, head held high. Throw in a drill Sergeant, and they'd be ready for the Marines. Women too throw their chest out, their shoulders down and back unconsciously throwing their curves into better silhouette, but they tend to lean forward as if unwilling to miss one syllable from their guy's lips and to get closer. An eager female is so becoming to a man.

6.The Taciturn/Chatterbox: 

Men may speak more or less than usual when the love bug bites. Women aimlessly chatter or sit in mute fascination listening to every boring word spewing from their guy.

7.The Twisted Tongue: 

 when love strikes.

This is why we fall and how we fall in love. Then again it  is an experience that does not happen everyday , you can love someone but you are not in love with them, so if you happen to find someone to fall in love with , then you are lucky to have experience the feeling of falling in love. 

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Facts:
Wikipedia
Kanika Goswami/buzzle.com
Glory Lennon/life123.com

Photo:
Graur Razvan Ionut
www.freedigitalphotos.net