ThE cOw AnD i

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Variations of love.

It suddenly stumble upon me one fine night when i was watching some crappy drama show, when the male and female leads talked about love in a scientific way. Kinda interesting to know more about that. Since now i am also listening to "Forever Love" by Kenny G, i can only assumed that my brain have sent signals for me to be in a lovely mood to write on something about love, before my mundance Sunday Homework Intensive Training begins.

I vividly recall what is on the show. Our brain release many hormones on the different stages of affection. They include: Testosterone, Oestrogen, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Vasopressin. (These proper names come from Wikipedia :) )

It says there that "higher levels of Testosterone and Oestrogen are present during the lustful phase of a relationship; Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Seretonin are more commonly found during the attraction phase of a relationship;Oxytocin, and Vasopressin seemed to be more closley linked to long term bonding and relationships characterized by strong attachments."

Hmm...really? According to the show, the concentration of Dopamine and Norepinephrine starts to decline after the first and second year of courtship. That is when the "true" test of er...should i call it Love comes about. How long couples stay attracted to one another after affections dies out, and when responsibility comes in.

The greeks terms Love in another way, into different categories, something i recently learnt from my econs lecture...haha...They are:

Eros, otherwise known as erotic or lustful love, where one will find high demand for it in our very famous Geylang- the Hotter than hot red light district.

Phileo, which is brotherly love and
Agape, which means unconditional or spiritual love. If i did not remember wrongly, to greeks, it was a form of their love towards their God.

Hmm...so what is Love? An abstract, affection or something best felt than described? Personally, i try to love everyone as far as i can. (Of cuz, this is different from romantic love!!) I wonder what kind of love it belongs to. Like cannot find leh...But as far as i am concerned, loving the people around me encompass respect, humour, trust and passion. I wonder if it sounds familiar to having close knitted friends...Or are they intertwined?

Yet, with the progression of society, it seems to me that people get more skeptical about loving. With skeptism and suspicion, with schemers and distrust, how many barriers can one set to the person next to us? Where true friendships bonds dwindle. It takes a lot to love, and as much to receive and reciprocate.

by xiaojia at 2:03 PM |