A friend I met over two decades ago once said, “There is a difference between falling in love and being in love.” After experiencing both, I know now that if you continually chase after the feelings of the former, you will miss out on the rich landscape of the latter. -Lori Stone (CLF)
What pearls of wisdom have you held on to?
Love is excitement—fireworks and trumpets and chocolates and roses. But it is also companionable quiet as you sit with someone you love and watch the snow fall or the birds fly by or the wind rustle the trees. -Judy DiCristofaro (CLF)
How have you experienced the love of companionable quiet?
The love that lasts through the years is pragma. It is the love one has for those people you know you can count on, the people you don’t even have to say something to in order for them to know what’s on your mind. It is the love of partnership–romantic and otherwise.
What does it mean to you to be a “partner” with someone?
Love can bring out the best in all of us. Ever notice when you are falling in love, whether it be with romantic love or family love or friendship love, we lift up the person we are newly in love with. Everything that they do is wonderful and exciting. We encourage them and support them. As the newness of that love fades, so too can our enthusiasm for the person. What if we treated the everyday people in our lives, the people who have been around a long time, as if we were falling in love with them? -Jody Malloy (CLF)
Tell someone you love them.
All people are sexual beings, but not all people express or receive physical pleasure in the same ways. The intimacy of healthy relationships allows us to express with partners how it is that we feel pleasure, and what it is that we desire physically and emotionally.
Talk with someone about a sensitive topic today.
