I feel Isolated

Before bed, I usually spend a little bit of time reading blogs on some of the communities I'm a part of. This isn't my only online journal; it's actually my third. I have always felt the need to write but for some reason when I realize people are actually reading it, I stop writing in that journal. I think a part of me is afraid that someone might think my writing style is junk or that the topics I write about are frivolous. But I think my biggest fear is that someone might actually understand where I'm coming from.

One of my favorite topics to read and write about is love and everything that is related to it. I will be the first to admit that I don't have a lot of experience on the matter but it doesn't mean that my own knowledge of it doesn't apply. Anyway, earlier this evening, I stumbled upon a blog that questioned the difference between like, lust, and love. The blogger suggested that the reason for why dating and relationships are so difficult is because people have a hard time differentiating between the three and thus leading to ill perceived situations.

Like is something that can be both temporary and lasting. It shows a general appreciation for something, whether living or not. It's not really a strong feeling. You can like your friends but you can also just like walking or even cheese.


Lust to me, is a feeling that is driven more so by passion. It can be purely a physical lust for someone. It can also be described as being an infatuation. This is usually considered to be more short term rather than long term. Well, unless you want to turn into a full on stalker that is driven so strongly by lust that you end up building a shrine for the object of your lust....but I digress.

And above all else, my favorite: love. Love is the feeling of unconditional acceptance. It's a combination of like and a healthy dose of lust. It's a person's ability to accept and "love" another regardless of their flaws. Love is formed when you realize that regardless of all the arguments or tears, you still don't want to live your life without them. Your love doesn't make you whole but rather compliments you. It's the other person who makes life all that much better. The one who sticks with you through thick and thin. Love prevails in the heart, even if things don't work out on the surface, or what I like to call, "the real world".

I have experienced all three of these emotions. I happen to like a lot of things in my life. They are the simple things I encounter in everyday life. I lust after Jensen Ackles [my celebrity crush] and that cute pair of shoes I see at Nordstrom. But above all else, I love my friends, family, and my life. I have been blessed enough to have loved someone I thought was the one to further compliment my life but it wasn't right. I know I will be able to love again someday. But for now, like and lust is good enough for me.

So I pose the question, can you really tell which emotion you're feeling? Or is it just something that has to play out before you realize what it really was?