You meet a man who has that “hot” factor and falls into your “panty dropper” category. Some would call this feeling passion, but it is lust defined as “an intense feeling of sexual desire.” Lust is a normal feeling and acceptable to act on as long as you keep it in perspective. Usually, it is what fuels the early phase of a relationship. If you want a long-term relationship, then look for a mate that wants to progress to a mature one and not remain here in the lust phase. The passing of time will wear on lust.

Passion is a combination of sexual desire, romantic love, sensual pleasure, and self-fulfillment. It comes from a couple knowing and growing with one another. Contented individuals in a relationship bring a positive energy to it. Equality and support in a relationship can improve the emotional connection and enhance the passion. Therefore, it requires a certain level of relational maturity and commitment to get to this state.

Passion is the last relational trait on my list because you truly need to have the others (humility, respect, kindness, thoughtfulness, faithfulness, humor, and adoration) present in your relationship to reach this point. When a couple can communicate their desires and the willingness to fulfill their partner’s desires, then they will eventually reach the passionate state.

QUESTION(s):

Do you believe in passion?

How do you feel about lust? Should one suppress it? Or act on it?

Adoration is deep love.

When a man is loyal to his woman, she will adore him.

When a woman respects her man, he will adore her.

I think that most of us aspire to have that kind of love that Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell sung about in those duets like “Your Precious Love” and “If This World Were Mine”. We wonder if adoration indeed exists between a man and woman anymore in our society with the escalating divorce rate. It seems internal relational factors (respect, loyalty) are superseded with external societal factors (money, status, agendas).

Adoration is developed over time in a relationship. It is not something that will be present in the initial stages. However, you need to determine that your prospective mate is capable of respect and loyalty. Family background is relevant to this determination. It is important to know the health of the relationship between a man and his mother. Also, it is important to understand the health of the relationship between a woman and her father.

Sharing a deep love is wonderful. I have experienced it in my relational life. What I have discovered is that it is all of the natural, effortless acts of adoration that I appreciate most. Once, my guy and I were at a buffet-style BBQ with some of his friends. He was very attentive to me, so one of his friends commented to me, “He treats you like a queen.” Before I could reply my guy walks up with a plate of food and a drink for me. He overhears the comment and says to his friend, “Elaine isn’t a queen, she’s a goddess.” I smiled.

QUESTION (s):

Do you want to be adored?

What will it take for you to adore your mate?

One of the most endearing things that you can share with a prospective mate is laughter. There is something to be said about a man who makes you laugh. I think humor is a balm for the soul and a person who can find it in ordinary everyday life has a special gift.

The merriment expressed between lovers can be a loving kind of intimacy and a special aphrodisiac. It is something that you work up to through the other relational traits, but it is worth the wait. However, first, you must find a mate who has a sense of humor and is comfortable with himself in showing it to you. Also, assuming you have a sense of humor, it must be compatible with your prospective mate’s to make that intimate match.

One of the key indicators that a person has a sense of humor is if they can laugh at themselves. Take notice that they are not into negative humor where they are laughing at others instead of laughing with others. Avoid anyone who is into sarcastic humor – this is a sign of a bully.

QUESTION(s): Would you consider laughter an aphrodisiac?

How beautiful must I be for you to remain faithful to me?

There are scores of women scarred by unfaithfulness. Some scars are visible in the expression of negative emotions while others are invisible in the inability to open the heart to another relationship. However, the one common thread I hear in my discussions is that we women tend to carry the responsibility for our mate’s unfaithfulness.

We blame our appearance, our professional careers or lack of one, the way we relate to him, and the attention we give our children. We may not explicitly embrace this as the reason, but we implicitly accept it when we allow him to use it as an excuse. Some of us even compare/compete with the other woman to no avail. Let us all recall Clara Harris who is a brilliant woman that ruined her life by carrying the responsibility of her husband’s unfaithfulness. She morphed to become the woman she thought her husband wanted and he was still unfaithful. If only she had understood that his unfaithfulness wasn’t about her……..it was about him.

So here is an original thought that I want each of you to consider.

Faithfulness is a choice.

It is a choice driven by inner emotions instead of external factors. Before you commit to exclusivity in a relationship, you need to have an explicit discussion with your prospective mate about faithfulness. Don’t let the reciting of marriage vows be the first time that you openly discuss it. You also need to have a defined action in the case that your mate is unfaithful so that you will not suffer the agonies of vacillation.

QUESTION(s)

Do you believe faithfulness is a choice?