At what point in your life did you begin to understand what love really felt like? We all enjoy the affection and attention our parents gave us as children. As infants and toddlers we depend totally on our caregivers who usually are moms or dads, grandmas or grandpas and sometimes even an older sibling. The warm friendly touch that provides shelter, nourishment, and attention is what we crave and eventually perceive as love.
True love
As we mature and develop relationships that make us feel safe, respected, needed, we say that we are falling in love. Initially what is commonly referred to as [love at first sight] is nothing more than physical attraction. The object of our attraction then becomes the mirror image of the perfect mate that we have fabricated in our minds. Unfortunately, when we discover that we have simply projected our fantasies into this new relationship, the passion seems to dissipate. Most of the time we move on searching for the high that you feel at the beginning of any new relationship, while your imagination hopes and dreams run amok.
Have you ever asked yourself why you love another living creature? Could it possibly be simply because they make you feel good? When we’re happy our brains release a chemical called dopamine.
How about the love affair we have with our pets?
Dopamine is also stimulated in our pet’s brains when we feed them, play with them, stroke and groom them. Our egos tell us that these domesticated animals love us. But if love is simply the feeling we get because another living creature makes us feel good then it stands to reason that your pet will love anyone else that took really good care of them also. That’s not such a pleasant thought, is it? However it’s reality.
The bottom line is that we love because the object of our attention makes us feel good, whether it’s our parents, lover or our pet. Love is a two-way street, so if you want to be loved in return hopefully you will make your partner, a human being or not, feel really fantastic. Some of us prefer the simplicity of relationships with our pets to the complicated relationships with other humans. But remember you really do have to invest some time and effort to cultivate any relationship, even if it’s with your puppy.
