There are many couples whose relationship has begun in this way, but mere physical attraction, however strong, is not enough in itself to provide a basis for a lifelong relationship. This brings us on to the real heart of the question “what is love” — what is it that enables us to have a long-term, even lifelong, relationship with another human being?
It certainly can begin with attraction of the “love at first sight” kind, or something approaching that in intensity, though with some love relationships physical attraction is not the catalyst to start them into life. But from whatever basis a relationship begins — physical attraction or friendship or other circumstances — if the relationship is to continue and the individuals concerned are not to “fall out of love”, they must find each other’s personalities delightful. If you “fall in love at first sight” with someone whose personal habits — you subsequently discover — start to irritate you, and whose views and opinions annoy you, then you will quickly find yourself falling out of love. So, you must like the other person very much as a person. And, the feeling must be mutual, of course.
Once you have attraction, followed by a mutual liking of personalities, this then leads to a deep friendship, a friendship that becomes deepened by sexuality. It becomes a friendship to beat all other friendships and relationships, and a closeness greater than any experience before.
