Saturday, July 03, 2004

Lack of Affection

One of those realizations that came to me only after getting a bit older is that I had a lot of misconceptions as a younger man. Among them was the notion that I just couldn't survive without sex. (Don't panic, I'm not going into details here.) When I was in my 20's, I couldn't imagine going for more than a week without having sex. I was sure I would never be able to live without it. Boy, was I wrong. And in being wrong, I learned a valuable lesson. It's not the sex you miss, it's the affection. Affection is an often ignored but vital part of our lives. While having a partner is perhaps the best source of affection, you can give and receive affection from almost everything around you. It's a state of mind that produces an emotion. An affectionate state of mind is one that appreciates the love and joy in life. It produces gentleness, kindness, peace of mind and caring. Not being affectionate makes a person mean, unhappy and unpleasant to be around. You can give affection to and receive affection from other people, animals, books, music, your job (believe it or not), a multitude of situations in your daily life.
So while I might be missing the sex I enjoyed as a youngster, I make sure that affection is present in every moment of my life. I was wrong about not being able to survive without sex, but I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy life half as much as I do without affection. It's something I don't want to do without.

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