The Three Stages of Love

[irishman]

Three Expectations of Love
In relation to their stages.

1. Youth: Love is there; it is fresh, new, but it is a selfish love.
One might ask, “What is a selfish love?” (The same with both parties.)
Man: fleshly, physical; Lustful love.
Man asks, “What can she do for me?”

Woman: material love; “What will he give me”
Secure love; takes comfort in knowing that she will be taken care of.
This stage, for both parties, can be the hardest stage to endure.

2. Middle age: Secondly, love’s giving:
Love asks, “What can I do for him/her?” The lusty love is settling, and a new phase begins; love is more secure, more enduring.
Love is growing; it’s the same love, but has matured a bit; it still has expectations, but the focus begins to change.
This love is seen in compatibility.

3. Old age: Third, love’s harmony:
This love has come a long way; it has suffered much-but has endured the pressures of life together. Peers are no longer an issue. The focus remains on the other partner. Lust has been replaced by giving.

This is the best and easiest stage of love--the blissful love that has “endured unto the end”. It is love’s fruitfulness; the joy of the relationship when all OBstacles have been overcome, and all interference is past; The two can truly become one in this stage, and love will carry them into eternity as they focus more on the love, and not the flesh.