Reciprocity of Physicality and Emotion

Intimacy is an interesting thing. I think there are a lot of people who don't truly understand it's meaning or it's purpose. In the beginning of a relationship, we tend to think of physical advances as a way to communicate that we're interested in making the relationship more serious. Personally, I'd tend to argue that it should be the other way around. Assuming your relationship is being built upon some foundation of friendship, trust, and care... and not intended to be purely physical... I think that the physical side of a relationship should really be more like... a symptom. Physical intimacy is like sneezing or coughing when you have a cold. It's a natural side effect that starts happening. You don't force yourself to do it.

This isn't to say of course that just because your body is telling you to go somewhere, that you should, "because it's a natural side effect." That's not what I'm saying. Obviously I believe in restraining those impulses until the time when it is appropriate, such as, within the bounds of matrimony (depending on what level of intimacy you're referring to).

However, I think this is an important distinction. It means that being physical with someone will not create a good foundation for your emotional and spiritual relationship with that person. Sure, it may create a false sense of trust and security for a time, but the foundation will not be there. Your relationship will eventually collapse if you were attempting to build the emotional and spiritual facets of your relationship on top of your physical relationship. Rather, if you build your emotional and physical relationship with this person, they will slowly become your partner, and those facets of your relationship will create the foundation necessary to lift each other up for eternity. Those facets of your relationship will ignite the trust and love necessary to have a healthy physical relationship with someone.

I tend to think that it is wrong to attempt being physical with someone in order to prove your emotional and spiritual relationship. Being physical proves nothing. Just like sneezing doesn't indicate having a cold. It could be allergies. You're probably thinking that's an odd analogy by now, but oh well. It's working for me.

Anyway... I've probably beaten the horse dead by now. I just wanted to hit on the importance of the fact that we should all place our emotional and spiritual relationships with people first. Without them, we won't have the foundation necessary for anything else.