The Art of the Kiss

The first instant of attraction, a first date, and then, finally, the first kiss.

The body stirs, the electricity swirls, and brain functions cease. There is no reason, no logic, nor any judgement, there is just the kiss.

And that kiss usually determines if there will be another kiss, another date, or a search for another altogether.

Invariably we all remember our first kiss, or at least the first kiss with the one we choose to be with currently.

Before there were children, mortgages, bills, work deadlines, and the mundanity of everyday life, there was the intensity of the emotions and passions for one another.

Think back to a time when a greeting kiss was not merely a quick peck but a focused bond formed between the lips. All too often, after years of marriage or monogamy, the kiss gets the far backseat, the third row of the minivans of our lives. Everyone and everything else takes precedent and the act that connected us so strongly gets pushed down the to-do list because it is not as insistent as bosses, runny-nosed children, the president of the PTA, or the dog.

But kissing just might be the way to capture our former greatness and make our relationships sparkle like they once did. Kissing may remind us that we are the people we were attracted to in the beginning of the relationship, the very same sexy, adventurous, vital beings who longed to be near one another and share ourselves.

Although I've been with my husband for twenty-four years, since my freshmen year of high school, I had kissed a few boys in my past.

Kissing was exciting, interesting, fascinating, and not always neat. The boys who chose to kiss me had different techniques, but it wasn't until I met my husband that I found the ideal kisser for me.

For you see, kissing is subjective, but certain empirical facts have been discovered and I'm here to share them.

First it is important to note a kiss is a primitive dance, but one that should not be choreographed. A practiced kiss lacks spontaneity and feels lackluster.

A kiss should be searching but not probing, exploratory but not invasive.

Kisses should run the gamut from soft and sensual to passionate and throbbing. A marriage of lips and tongue, not all or nothing, should be the goal. That balance ought be struck to create ideal kissing.

A kiss should leave you tingly, yearning for more, and aching for the next kiss.

A kiss should warm your soul, make you feel gorgeous, and leave you temporarily paralyzed by the sheer chemistry involved.

Kisses should make you forget about the dinner burning on the stove, the garbage that needs to be taken out, the grocery list, the term paper, or the client that needs the callback.

Kissing should be a mini-vacation that offers complete serenity and a rush of raw emotion.

We should take a page from high school students and let our passions take the wheel occasionally.

Of course, being adults we have to keep our emotions in check, our priorities straight, and our passions caged through most of our day, but if we got back to the art of the kiss, we may just find the world, our world, is a much more tolerable place with wonderful moments to look forward!

Do you dare kiss and tell? Have a kissing story to share? Disagree with this blog or endorse it whole-heartedly? Can't believe I wrote about THIS?! Then step up and leave your comments below. I'd love to read what YOU think about kissing!