Tantalizing Thursday

Today’s focus is not about food; try take-out tonight or throw a frozen dinner into the microwave. We have a much more important topic to discuss, passion. I’m reading a book, the first in a series, that is a powerful reminder of what first love, infatuation, and passion feel like. When another person is all consuming, their smell is intoxicating, and the site of him/her is enough to make you dizzy. Every thought revolves around him/.her, food is a second or third thought, sleep matters not, and every decision is based around whether you can see or be with him/her.

For those of you who are single and are searching, these feelings are likely to strike. Some may be so addicted to the feeling that new relationships are begun for these reasons, but once the newness wears off, a new relationship is sought to mimic the feelings. For others, you may be in a long-term monogamous relationship but the infatuation is long gone, replaced by comfortableness, routine, and security. But I resist the idea that because true love has been found, passion has to be the casualty. There are ways to rekindle the spark that drew you together like moths to a flame.

Our greatest sexual organ is our brain. Using this to our advantage we can trick our minds into feeling the newness, intensity, and passion again. By digging into our memories, reenacting the past, and highlighting the best of who we were when first involved, a stirring can be achieved. By treating one another with respect, valuing the time you have together, and paying attention to one another, a bond remains through the stresses of everyday life, raising children, dealing with ailing parents, dreadful jobs, and a miserable economy. By keeping the relationship strong, the pilot light of passion stays lit and can be stoked to an inferno when time permits. But it’s important to remember that in addition to treating your partner well, you must treat yourself well or you cannot be a happy partner. By treating yourself with respect (like you do your spouse), pampering yourself (like you do the children or your friends), and being kind to yourself (like you are to neighbors and strangers) you are investing in the best commodity you have, YOU. By allowing yourself to be comfortable with yourself, to accept yourself, and to feel good about yourself, you bring a happier, freer, and sexier self to the table. Passion is easier to tap when you aren’t beating yourself up for how you look, how you feel, or other negative things.

So, take a page from the bestseller Twilight I’m reading. Abandon your grown up self once in a while. Become engrossed with your partner like you did when you two first met and fell for one another. Breathe him/her in. Give in to passion and temptation (with each other), and delight in every phone call, every glimpse, and every word. Steal kisses, hold hands, and give in to urges. The reason the book is such a bestseller, in my opinion, is the building passion between the main characters. Of course, the vampire plot has a lot to do with it, too, but it’s the sensual scenes that are written superbly that are holding my attention and have me at a peak frenzy!

As I wrote in yesterday’s blog “Cheers to Life”, life is far too short to not live it passionately. So, find your partner (or go look for one) and start living a more passionate, intimate, and intense life – together.