Love

[Neon Pink Shoehorn]

I've been asking myself this a lot lately... what is love?
I have thought that it's a fuction of trust and respect, with an ineffable extra something thrown in.
Or just a set of chemicals releasing in the brain, making you feel that "high" around someone? Attraction doubleplusgood?
English sucks at this word. I mean, how many different ways can you say that you're angry? But love... a parent, a child, a lover, a friend.
But now, I wonder if it has any meaning at all...

[Jay]

To me, love is when you can't bear to be away from someone. When you wish to be near them all the time, to just be there with them, to hold their hand, hug them, look into their eyes. When the very sight of the person makes you nervous. When you get intimate with them it makes you short of breath and gives you butterflies in your stomach. When every second you spend with them makes you want to spend even more time with them. When you're totally comfortable in the silence and don't feel the need to say a single word.

Yeah, I'm an old romantic at heart.

[more cheerios]

Love is knowing someone truly and deeply as possible. You know them and you truly care what happens to them. Love is not only happy, fluffy emotions but it is also pain and hurt. Love is also a comfort, a slow-burning fire that is always there. It will be hurtful to give yourself up completely to another person, but at the same time, it will be the most wonderful feeling of all. :)

[Jay]

^ Add those things to my post as well. I headdesk'ed for not remembering. >_<

[belladonna]

omg jay... that's it! and even when you are with that person you feel like that if you ever leave his/her side something will happen and you can't stop it... you feel like you're walking on air when you are around that person, but when you get frustrated or angry at that person you want to everything in your power to make that person happy so that things will remain perfect. but the pain is always there, unless you know that that person would ever do anything to hurt you and if they do they comfort you... and when you are away you heart feels tight in your chest and you just know that you want to spend the rest of your life with that person... no matter what...

[Jynx_lucky_j]

The following quote is a post i made on the ever popular "Sex" thread. It eddited for spelling and grammical errors. I've got bad news for some of you. If you've never been in a long term relationship (say 1-2 years), it's entirely likely that you've never been in "true love." You see there are 3 kinds of "love."

First there is lust, lust is little more than "oh my god they are so hot, i want them so bad." This lasts only a short time, and results in things like one night stands and flings, you know the things that don't really mean anything.

Second is romantic love, or puppy love. This is where you heart flutters when you see them, your always thinking about them, youre being just a bit obsesive, and other things we commonly associate with love. This is caused by your brain releasing chemicals such as oxytocin, norepinephrine, dopamine, vasopressin, endorphins, and such. And you brain tends to pump out these chemicals for about 6 months - 2 years. Then the brain starts giving you less and less chemicals and you find yourself less and less infatiated with this person. Most people call it off here for good or for ill. Things like, "I don't feel the same way about you" come to mind.

The final type is commited love, or "true love." This is when all the chemicals where off and you look at this person that you are no longer infatuated with and say to yourself, "I still want to spend the rest of my life with this person." They are not so much you lover anymore as they are family. You've become comfortible and a accustomed to them. It's not so romantic, and it doesn't help sale any movies or books like the other two. But you are closer to the person than you are in the other two types, you have a real bond as aposed to one with out sunstance. However lets epand upon that... Do you love your family? You mother? Your Father? Your siblings? Your children? What about you best freinds? Do you get all hot and bothered around them? I would hope not. Those are all differant types of love right? Most of us don't want to have sex with our siblings, most of us don't repect our children the same way we do out father. (Please note that exact feeling twards the individuals in you life may vary and these are only generalizations.) So obviously they are all differant "kinds" of love.

However I am of the belief that all love is the same. Wether its you perants, siblings, sinifigant other, best freind, children, or any one else you might say that you love. No I don't want to sleep with my brother, I don't get fluttery when i see him, I don't think about him constantly, but I still love him. You see love is simply when you care more about someone else than you do for yourself. Beyond that it is simply the roles that these people fill in your life. Your lover fills a differant roll than your child, you best freind fills a differant role than your mother. But that doesn't mean you love any of them less than you do the others.

[Radiance]

Chemistry. Love is Chemistry and one day you will see pills that give you the same exact feeling as love. Granted they could already create it, it just isn't ethical at this point and would probably get people addicted very easily.

More on the chemical effects of love and relationships for those interested, not much but still more than most people know.
http://www.cyberparent.com/love/love-being-in-love-1.htm

[Sock Full of Boiled Dimes]

To me, love is when you can't bear to be away from someone. When you wish to be near them all the time, to just be there with them, to hold their hand, hug them, look into their eyes. When the very sight of the person makes you nervous. When you get intimate with them it makes you short of breath and gives you butterflies in your stomach. When every second you spend with them makes you want to spend even more time with them. When you're totally comfortable in the silence and don't feel the need to say a single word.

Yeah, I'm an old romantic at heart.

Yup.

Had a girl feel that about me and she stalked me as well. Love only works when the person gives the same amount of feelings back to you. If you do not recieve an equal amount of love then love is useless.

Errr...sorry to bring the mood down.

[Jynx_lucky_j]

Chemistry. Love is Chemistry and one day you will see pills that give you the same exact feeling as love. Granted they could already create it, it just isn't ethical at this point and would probably get people addicted very easily.

More on the chemical effects of love and relationships for those interested, not much but still more than most people know.
http://www.cyberparent.com/love/love-being-in-love-1.htm
Technically nearly everything we do is based on either chemicals or small electrical impulses. Because thats just how our bodies and brain funtion. The the point is that this "feeling" of love isn't really love. I can garrantee that every single person that falls in love will lose the "feeling" of love at some point. It is a temperary altered state caused by the release a certain chemicals in your body, just like narcotics. after a time these chemicals will stop being produced your body will return to its original state, and you will no longer have this "feeling" anymore for that person. Real love is not a temporary alter state like chemical love is. Real love is a permenate change in the brains process linking the person to certain thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Just as it does with everyone else we meet in our lives. There IS more to love that just a euphoric chemical released by our bodies, however most people stop there they think its going to last forever and when it doesn't they move on.

I'm sorry to say that everyone that thinks love is about this roller coaster of emotions, getting nervous when you see them, feeling like your walking on air, or any other of these chemically endused feelings, these people are sadly ignorant about love. Ask someone who has been in a relationship for a long period of time (more than a few years), ask this if there heart still flutter every single time their partner looks at them. They will tell you no it doesn't. But that doesn't mean they love their partner any less than the day they met.

[Tenlaius]

Love is weird at times...hell I didn't actually feel it to a girl until a few weeks ago.

So ya I felt kind of like I was in a very long 'bla' mood, now I...well lets just say that I now get more doing things I used to do and not get bored(like video games or stalking this forum...wait I am doing that right now) I also now have soem degree of fun talking..which is someone I never actually did.

Eh...guess that is because she said to play games less I dunno.

[Annie]

The final type is commited love, or "true love." This is when all the chemicals where off and you look at this person that you are no longer infatuated with and say to yourself, "I still want to spend the rest of my life with this person." They are not so much you lover anymore as they are family. You've become comfortible and a accustomed to them. It's not so romantic, and it doesn't help sale any movies or books like the other two. But you are closer to the person than you are in the other two types, you have a real bond as aposed to one with out sunstance.


I like that. Sometimes I think that, because I dont get all fluttery and crap when I'm around my fiance, that something is wrong. But I guess it's normal if I'm not the only one feeling that way. I used to be gaga over this guy, but now, it's not like that. I still want to be with him for the rest of my life, but I don't feel like I used to. The thing that really lets me know I'm still in love with him is when we fight. If he walks out on me I feel like my world is falling down around me, and I just want to curl up in a hole somewhere and die.

[Jon885]

All emotions are just chemicals released in different regions of the brain I think. I'm just going by what scientists a hell of a lot smarter than me say.

[Jay]

Thank you for your input. Here's a cookie. Have a nice day.

[Soli]

"Love, it moves mountains and stills a baby's cries.
It beasts inside every human's heart, yet is more precious then gold.
It can not be bought or sold or stolen.
It keeps us alive."

~Just Ella

[Ozero]

yeah, when i read jay's first post up there, i thought, "That's not love, that's infactuation..."

so I'm glad that's been more or less addressed... infactuation lasts like.. a year on a good run, and people tend to break up then before they realize there's mor to love than that exciting phase...

blame hollywood maybe... they expect to be in a state of infactuation forever, cuz the movie ends along before that stage is over..

eventualy, life wanders into the picture.. it's what ya do THEN that matters...

(Heck, i can get infactuated easy.. i've fallen in love with my own drawings from time to time... but i kept my ring on! :P )

[Admiral Luis]

Love is a funny thing ...

The person you love is the one who can make you suffer the most ...

Once a friend of mine (a girl) told me that love and hate are very close and may mix togheter ... I understood why at the time, as I didn't know if I loved or hated a certain girl at the time (bad breakup, long story) and I felt both emotions for her. But I just realized altough I understand the mix of the two feelings I can't explain it, I can just feel it ...

[Mittens]

Love lies...

[Kanzetsu]

Love is something dependant on 2 people if you ask me, a combination of emotional and concsious loyalty, that loyalty spurs as an addiction.
How well your loyalty/concsience holds (dependant on both parties) decides weather you will keep loving that person or end up hating them.
Unconditional love you might say? that's a little different, but works of the same foundations in some respects =\
That's my rough analysis of what love is.

But screw that, let's just call it mysterious and get all romantic ^_^, I know I do.

[Jay]

Love lies...

/me pushes the cat off the windowsill for the stupidest comment of the night :p

[Mittens]

/me pushes the cat off the windowsill for the stupidest comment of the night :p

*flips onto all 4 legs and jump back into the window from the street in a swift motion, effectively biting his head off in an un-dodgeable way*

Love is an illuuuuuuuuusion

*chomps on Jay's headless body*

[Jay]

Alright, I'm done derailing...

[mrpwase]

Godmodding in a debate...o_O

I've never really thought about love before. There's a thin line between infatuation and all this 'true love' business, it seems. Meh. I'll go for a mixture between chemicals and mystical crap. :P

[Jon885]

Thank you for your input. Here's a cookie. Have a nice day.

Here's a bottle of cyanide. Bottoms up!

[Psychochink]

I've been asking myself this a lot lately... what is love?

Since any points I might have made have already been made, time for a digression...

Am I the only one who immediately thought, "Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more?"

[Chelsums]

Love is a funny thing ...

The person you love is the one who can make you suffer the most ...
This is so true. The more you love someone, the more they have the power to hurt you.

Love isn't when you look at someone and your heart flutters. No, that's infatuation. Love is when you've been with someone and you can scream at each other and call each other names and when you can cry because that person hurt you and when after that you can STILL look at that person and want to spend time with them. When you know that even if you're being cold to one another, you still love each other. When you never have to question the person's love for you because you know it will always be there. When the person you love knows you better than you know yourself. When you can look at the person and not find them to be attractive, but still want them.

I think that is love.

I used to not understand the song that went, "I hate everything about you. Why do I love you?" I would say, "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard. Why would you love someone if you hated them?" But it's true. There's a very thin line between love and hate. But when you can cross that line and hate the other person so much but still find your way back to the other side easily, then that's love.

[CrazyAce86]

Anybody believe in love at first sight?

[Chelsums]

Anybody believe in love at first sight?
It's more like lust at first sight.

[belladonna]

i believe in lust at first sight...

[Jynx_lucky_j]

Anybody believe in love at first sight?
No...no i do not.

How can you have more than a superficial attraction to someone you have never seen before? What acctually happens is at BEST they get infatuation at first sight. And then after getting to know the person they find that their initial attraction just happens to begrounded, and they say its love at first sight. Nobody (seriously) says they love somebody the moment they see them. It's only after they've got to know the person that they tell other that it was love at first sight. But the only reason that it is love at first sight is because things worked out, if they had turned out to be a bitch they wouldn't go around telling people that it was love at first sight.

[Admiral Luis]

This is so true. The more you love someone, the more they have the power to hurt you.

Love isn't when you look at someone and your heart flutters. No, that's infatuation. Love is when you've been with someone and you can scream at each other and call each other names and when you can cry because that person hurt you and when after that you can STILL look at that person and want to spend time with them. When you know that even if you're being cold to one another, you still love each other. When you never have to question the person's love for you because you know it will always be there. When the person you love knows you better than you know yourself. When you can look at the person and not find them to be attractive, but still want them.

I think that is love.

I used to not understand the song that went, "I hate everything about you. Why do I love you?" I would say, "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard. Why would you love someone if you hated them?" But it's true. There's a very thin line between love and hate. But when you can cross that line and hate the other person so much but still find your way back to the other side easily, then that's love.



I wouldn't have said it better

[Myrsilus]

At the moment, I don't believe in love at first sight. Mainly because I can't fathom how such a thing would be real. I know I've felt deep infatuation for a girl when I got to see her and talk a little, but I'm sure it wasn't the love you all have in mind. It was probably just my primal instincts taking over.

Love does exist, though. I'm sure of it (Maybe...).

[Soli]

Here's something I found that I must have read somewhere (Or I wrote it... not sure :confused: ) awhile ago:

What is this thing called love?

In movies, a man and a woman meet, are instantly attracted to each other, and by the time the hour is over and the credits roll, have declared their undying love for each other and made out. In fairy tales, lovers find each other through unlikely and fantastic means, to stay together in untainted bliss until the end of their days, and live happily ever after. In stories, the lovers are the main characters, who very quickly find and fall in love with each other, only to be torn apart, usually by a jealous acquaintance. Within a few hundred pages, they overcome the problem, are reunited, and have a steamy bedroom scene that can last for as long as 50 pages or more, if the writer is talented enough.

And though they may not seem very similar, or perhaps, to some eyes, not very different at all, there is usually but a single thread that ties these all together. True love. Love at first sight. As Romeo says, "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." That's all well and good in stories, but what is love like in real life?

Some people believe in true love, that there's only one person out there who could be their soulmate. Some people believe in love at first sight, that the bond is formed the minute you look at that special someone, and just know they're the one.

Well, some people might, but I don't.

We're all born with half a heart. A heart, gruesomely torn down the middle, and we receive one of those jagged halves. Who gets that other half, your special someone? Maybe. Maybe not. Honestly, there isn't a special someone. There never is. There isn't such a thing as love at first sight, either. We obviously need an entire heart to make us whole, don't we? And understandably, that other half needs to fit in precisely with our own, and fill in every nook and cranny that the jagged pieces leave. Love at first sight would be finding someone who's half heart slips neatly into place with your own, a perfect fit, on the very first try. Nobody's half heart can fit your own so precisely when you first meet them. It's impossible. Even if it could happen, the chances of you actually finding that person would be astronomical.

No, you've just got to take any half heart you can get. You have to spend time with the person, get to know them for a while, do things together. And when you do things with people, your hearts rub together, you see, and grind away at each other's sharp pieces. And after a while, if it works out, your half hearts' will have worn away some of each other's odd edges. If you've been together long enough, there will have been enough time to have worn each other's half hearts down so well that they slip together, a perfect fit, and form a single, united whole.

You are complete.

And that is love.

But as perfectly as they fit together, any minute imperfection can endanger the wellbeing of that love, threaten to make the other half heart break away from your own. Love hurts. Life is hard. Life will do the very best it can to hit you where it hurts, to fracture your heart and mind, body and soul. If it cracks your heart badly enough, then your half heart will be separated from the other, and you'll have to go through the process all over again, like breaking in a pair of shoes. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it's a lost cause. You have to be strong enough to resist all of those blows, to keep your heart from shattering, and be able to let your other half do the rest.

That's why I'm never going to fall in love.

Love takes strength. Love takes trust. Love takes courage. I don't have any of those things.

I've already had my heart shattered before. Several times, in fact. And each time, I've gathered it up again, piece by painful piece, and tried to put it back together. And once I finally manage it.... well, life goes on. It's got such a different shape that I can barely recognize it anymore. Sure, the outside looks mostly the same; it might have some nicks and cracks, a few scratches and dents to show the rough treatment, but it's the inside that really counts when it comes to these things. And the inside.... well, it's so wildly different that sometimes even I wonder what's happened to me. I don't know myself anymore.

Neither does anyone else. I won't let them.

It is a constant struggle to maintain my lofty facade. I always wear a mask, it seems. Hurrying to paint over any cracks that might appear in this psychological armor...

So that settles it, then. I guess I won't ever try to love. I already-- and will continue to-- hold my half heart near as can be, to protect it. I shut myself away from other people. I'm afraid of trying to wear my heart down to fit with somebody else's. If I let anyone get too close... well, somebody ends up getting hurt. Them, me, sometimes both. I can take it; I just can't take having somebody else needing to.

I'll stay alone, stay jagged. That's just the way it has to be. I'll never be complete. It doesn't matter though; I never have been, anyway. Sometimes, though, I just wonder... is it truly better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all?

[Neon Pink Shoehorn]

Part of me thinks that only half of love is how you feel, the other half is what you do. I shall take my parents:
They call each other names, berate each other, and they still say they love each other. But if it's all emotional, it isn't reflected in how they treat each other.
I dunno.

[lena.mz]

Love is just a biological process .. it's very cliched, very cynical but I find it to be true. Love is lust .. done up in a pretty little package. Love (and marriage subsequently) is just a reasoning humans give themselves so that they will stay with that same mate to raise children - and give them a better chance of surviving. That's it. Nothing more to it. It's almost like a lie we tell ourselves to make it sound better.

[Pierrot le Fou]

Jynx wrote a really good explanation I think you should all take another gander at here (http://www.outpostnine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=71705&postcount=6).

Personally, I think love is compromise. Love is when you find someone who you're willing to compromise your 'self' to be with, and they are willing to compromise their 'self' to be with you. It's when you decide to stop living your life as a singular person, and compromise enough to be able to live your life for two people (and more if you have kids). I'd also say love is maturity -- realizing that things aren't absolute like in a fairy tale, and that it will take work to find a relationship that works for you.

And it can fall apart easily the second one person stops compromising, and stops meeting the other person halfway. Very quickly.

[Nekesu]

what is love? baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more...=P

from the many different opinions on what love is, I say its a damn theory, and it is such because it cannot meet all observations.

kthx

[Neon Pink Shoehorn]

Eh, love is complicated. a feeling. an action. the way you treat yourself. It's all connected... you can treat anyone with "love" without really loving/knowing them, but then, is it really love?
Gah. this isn't helping as much as I thought it would

[ellie]

I can't explain love. Jynx was right--it's when you care more for someone than for yourself. However, I am completely incapable of explaining the way that makes me feel. I don't even know where to start. Being in love is the most amazing feeling in the world. It's something to hold on to.

Yay for love. I'm feeling all girlie right now. I'm going to go draw some hearts and flowers around some boys name now.

[Zavyyn]

On love: I believe in bonds between people who care about each other.

On love at first sight: I do not believe in choosing a breeding partner so recklessly. Maybe if I had a chemical imbalance. Or perhaps I already have one?

I do believe in love at first taste. Give me a woman who can cook any day of the week. Cajun cuisine for preference, minus the catfish.

PS Dexterity with the tongue is a bonus in any potential mate.

[Ardo Zubairu]

What is Love? It is question that appears simply... Yet some people wonder, just like me, how to know when love is felt or experience or why you love somebody and not everybody. There is a time in our lives when we need to know what love is and how we can express it without fear of rejection or disappointment.
The meaning of love has been controversial throughout history. Learned men and women have sought to understand this emotion. Dale Carnegie, the great American public speaker and author, could not help including love among the eight basic necessities of normal human being. There are various forms of love each of which is pivotal to existence. But the must striking ones are mother-child love and man-woman love. The former is an in-built love which comes spontaneously. The later, man-woman love is the most talked about.

[fa11en87]

The partner love is overrated in my opinion.

[stillbornsinger]

after a time these chemicals will stop being produced your body will return to its original state, and you will no longer have this "feeling" anymore for that person.

What if I've felt that way about someone for over 7 years?

[Jynx_lucky_j]

What if I've felt that way about someone for over 7 years?
If you say that you feel the same way that you did when you were first dating...then i would have to call foul.

I in no way doubt that that you love them just as much as you ever have, but i doubt you still have the physical high or the borderline obseviseness that come with the release of these chemicals. Of course there are exeptions, if i remember right you said you are inthe military? After long times apart (such as deployments or time at sea) you can fall back into the infatuation when you are togather again. Although it ussally doesn't last as long as the original.

[stillbornsinger]

Yeah, there have been long times apart, but we arn't dating. We have dated off and on a couple of times but its never worked out because one of us will go somewhere for a long time and we will break things off to make it easier and then when we are back around each other one will have a significant other or something. I guess its really hard to explain. But she is my best friend and really I've felt that chemical high every time I've been around her, even when we were going to school together and saw each other every day.

[nothing]

Love is simply caring about how a person feels and wanting to do your best to make them happy, or in the case of an ideal, cause, country or similar, to keep it alive and strong. That way it can apply to romantic love, love for your family and friends, love for your religion and love of your country. Love in and of itself is not romantic or sexual, there are other factors that are needed for this.

To have loved and lost... I'm not sure if I can adequately answer that. What I can say is that for a long time, I have loved a girl who doesn't want to be more than friends with me. It took me years to learn to live with that; I don't feel any less for her now but it doesn't hurt anymore. I'm glad it didn't drive her away from me though, she's the best friend I have. Is that a kind of loving and losing?

Also to answer something I've been asked before; I now have a girlfriend I care about very much. This hasn't compromised either how I feel about her or my old friend in any way - it's completely possible for me to love one without loving the other less, love is not a finite thing for me. All it changes is whether or not I would begin a relationship with my old friend if she decided she wanted that - I'm now taken, and I don't two-time, or abandon one love for another.

It might be easier to abandon one's principles, but keeping them fosters trust from your friends and respect from (most) other people. Keep them, you'll thank yourself for it.

(top: girlfriend, bottom: friend. Yay pictures!)
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b19/specialerthanyou/project/down.jpg

[Idlethought]

Ok since theres so much animosity in this section today lemme revive this thread with a question.

Do you think that everybody needs love (as in romantic partner) or that its just an added benefit?

I personally think that everyone needs it whether they can or cannot get it within their life time

[Neon Pink Shoehorn]

I think most people search for it, but many can't see it. I think that you can love anyone, if you want. I don't believe in the perfect mate, in fact, I think there are many people that I could end up as a life partner with. I know I can live without one, but I'd really like to be held an cuddled. you don't get that amonst girlfriends. Much.

[stillbornsinger]

Ok since theres so much animosity in this section today lemme revive this thread with a question.

Do you think that everybody needs love (as in romantic partner) or that its just an added benefit?

I personally think that everyone needs it whether they can or cannot get it within their life time

I don't think its a requirement for survival, but I have noticed a big change in my own personality and outlook on life when I am involved with someone or not. I'm just generally a lot happier when I've got a significant other and find long periods without a girlfriend to be quite depressing.

[jindojim]

What is love? (as I hum the Night at the Roxbury song)

I like to just put it in established psychological terms. Steinberg's triangular theory of love dictates that love is made up of one or a combination of three components: intimacy (essentially feelings and factors that make you want to be the person's friend), passion (the erotic side of love), and commitment (the factor that allows relationships to last a long time). This leads to 7 different expressions of love:

(quoted and referenced from http://webhome.idirect.com/~kehamilt/ipsylove.html)
" Liking has only one component--intimacy. Intimate liking characterizes true friendships, where we feel bonded, warmth and closeness but not passion or long term commitment

Infatuated love has only one component-passion and is often what we feel as love at first sight-without intimacy and commitment infatuated love may disappear suddenly

Empty love consists of the commitment component without intimacy or passion. sometimes a stronger love deteriorates into empty love-the commitment remains, but the intimacy and passion have died. In cultures where marriage is arranged, relationships often begin as empty love

Romantic love is a combination of intimacy and passion. Romantic lovers are bonded emotionally (as in liking) and physically through passionate arousal

Fatuous love has the passion and commitment components but not the intimacy. This type of love is often found in whirlwind courtship and marriage where commitment is motivated by passion without the stabilizing influence of intimacy

Companionate love consists of intimacy and commitment. This type of love is often found in marriages in which the passion has gone out of the marriage but a deep affection and commitment remains

Consummate love is the only type that has all three components--intimacy, commitment an passion. Consummate love is the most complete form of love and it represents the ideal love relationship for which many people strive but few achieve. Sternberg cautions that maintaining a consummate love may be even harder than achieving it."

Or you just say that you love your gf/bf/whatever and know that it is true.

[more cheerios]

Does everyone need a romantic partner?
I'm not so sure. I know lots of people in their late fourties who've never dated and they're happy.

I guess it all depends on the person.

[Loc]

I don't think everyone needs a romantic partner, some of us are happy to just do our own thing and be happy without having to have someone there for support or whatever.

I do believe that there is a "soul mate" for everyone though, somewhere out there.

[more cheerios]

I don't think everyone needs a romantic partner, some of us are happy to just do our own thing and be happy without having to have someone there for support or whatever.

I do believe that there is a "soul mate" for everyone though, somewhere out there.
I believe that soul mates can just be best friends, too.
Why does your soul need a romantic interest? :)

[Shamu]

I believe whole heartedly in love, love at first sight, true love, and soul mates. I don't think I'll ever find them for myself, but I know many people that have.
And I agree with More Cheerios, I don't think your soul mate needs to be a romantic soulmate.