menintights wrote:
Attraction isn't a choice, but a relationship is. As for love?
I'm gonna have to go with yes, it is a choice. Love (or hate) is a strong feeling and it doesn't "just happen"--it takes time to grow and some (sub)conscious effort is probably needed for it to happen. I think a lot of people are just so in love with the idea of being in love that the effort they're putting into falling in love then seems so effortless it's practically nonexistent--hence the notion that love "just happens."
Quote:
And if so, could you just as easily decide to stop loving them?
I
could decide to stop loving them, but strong feelings don't go away overnight. Anything's possible if you put your mind to it, though.
Have to agree with most of this. The feeling of love is overwhelming, and it is part attraction, part compatibility and part choice (the relationship part). I can't choose who attracts me. Nor can I choose who just happens to mesh well with me, that just sort of happens--very rarely but when it does...WOW. Put on top of that a conscious choice (from both parties) to have a relationship with one another, to work to understand the other, to put efforts into understanding and avoiding hurts and healing wounds together...and you've got a powerful love indeed. Unfortunately, I don't think bonds like that can be severed by choice, the heart starts to have too much say. Healing from that is a b***h...I'll get back to you if I ever manage to succeed.
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-Amy
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