Overcome

Elizabeth Riley
English 213
Michael Sexton
April 17, 2009
Overcome:
The Emotions of Love and Lust

Our emotions are volatile things, changing on us constantly, and messing with our everyday lives, and none seem to mess with us more than the emotions of love and lust. The two at times may seem quite connected, keeping one physically attracted to their emotional equal; while at others the combination of the two will do more harm than good. Emotions such as these make our lives more interesting, perhaps because even after thousands of years we still understand very little about them.
Our first encounters with love come at a very young age, we are sweet and innocent and we begin to love the world around us. We love the simple things in life, that which does not need a larger purpose other than to be our tree house. This is the point in our lives where we expect nothing in return for our love and we have begun by loving right; here we love the rock, the tree, the cloud. Love such as this been sought after by others who want to regain the innocence of the love they once had, one that is not tainted by the prejudices and preconceived notions accumulated over a lifetime.
Children are the purest of all living beings, and with their innocence and the boundless love felt towards them the loss of a child hurts on a much deeper level. The loss of a child is the worst thing that can happen because love is involved, not just that of the parents but the loves of the child as well. When the love the child feels for the world around them is lost, a sense of emptiness is left, with nothing to fill its void because there is no way of regaining that love, no way of turning back the clock and no way of replacing the love that they gifted the world with; once it is gone it is lost forever.
When we are older love and lust are allowed their first opportunity to mingle. It is almost like the emotion of lust is allowed to enter our body through all of the hormones we feel at this time in our lives. This is the time when lust is so overwhelming it takes over any tender feelings that love might have had in our heart before this point. We become driven to fulfill our thoughts and the actions that follow and these are not something we are proud of , in fact more often than not are embarrassing beyond belief.
Usually our first attempts at fulfilling our feelings go quite horribly, resulting in red faces and bruised egos. Some will go so far as to try and view the object of their lust nude, and inevitably there will be consequences, Actaeon was turned into a stag and ripped to shreds for daring to lust after Diana after he saw her bathing naked. Fortunately for most people this will not happen to them, although it is quite likely that parents will not be happy with the situation, most especially the fathers.
Later as we are more able to deal with lust and love at the same time, we are still inevitably drawn towards lust. In everyday situations our physical needs over power the emotional draw we may feel towards another. Often this results in trying to pressure our significant other in to sexual relationships that they are not ready for, resulting in the severing of this relationship and is inevitably followed by remorse; by being overwhelmed by lust, the chance at happily ever after is ruined. Lust also makes us very easy to manipulate. If we are as smart as Lysistrata we use the lust that others feel towards us and con them into giving us more power. In more modern situations we will go to great lengths to make the object of our attention happy in the hopes of sexual gratification.
When love and lust are together there are times when things seem contradictory. The love one feels for another may overpower the lust factor, leaving the relationship feeling entirely too bland, while at other times the lack of love in a relationship can make one feel empty inside. Perhaps too much lust will leave one in a relationship much like that of Myrrhine, where the husband neglects the child because he has not been sexually satisfied for so long. On the opposite end, a lack of lustful thoughts may leave one feeling unwanted and less than desirable, which is never a good thing in a relationship.
There are times when love and lust are perfectly balanced, or at least co-exist on some level. This may sometimes mean that the existence of these emotions together create a sense of harmony within us. Light fills our days, and heat fills our nights in short, there is nothing wrong with this picture. Our soul finds its counterpoint and we are in a perfect love as that of Psyche and Cupid. Experiences during this time are unlike that of any other in our lifetime, and we hold them more precious and dear that anything else.
Love and Lust are inevitable emotions, and a huge part of who we are as human beings. Our need for each of them is fundamental, and reveling in them is not a bad thing. They play with our other emotions and allow us to get into trouble and try and talk our way out of it. If we were void of these emotions we would be left with a meaningless existence. Without love and lust we lose two of the most flavorful spices of life, which keep us striving to reach that one point of completion, where lust and love meet in the perfect union that has the ability to make us giddy and care free in ways that no other emotions have the ability to; they intimately connect us to another human being. This completion of our bodies and our souls makes all of the pain, and embarrassment along the way well worth the trouble.