Intimacy
Humans were designed to be relational. We are often seeking that bond with others. I went to a conference a few years ago that discussed intimacy. This word, intimacy, has become so degraded to mean the physical bond between people in a sexual matter. Let me introduce you to a new perspective on intimacy and how it can actually bring you closer to the person you desire to be and who you were designed to be.
Intimacy is by definition: a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group. While most people think of intimacy as that next step in a relationship. Intimacy is forming all around us, with each person we are connecting with. It can be difficult for people to grasp this because of how "sexual" we have made the word. But it is not a sexual word. It is actually, a bond. I tested this theory out and would like to share it with you here.
I started to look at intimacy as a conscious choice to be more connected to myself and those around me. I erased the concept of intimacy as a sexual act from my mind and focused on it as a relationship strengthening factor. This is what I found... I found that my interactions with people became stronger, kinder, more loving. I found that I had deeper responses and connections to people that would normally only go surface level. I found that I was able to build upon a foundation and trust the people I was with. I found that I could actually let go of the expectations and enjoy the interactions between myself and another person or group of people. I watched as my friendships blossomed. I saw my relationships with my family bloom. I found that I was actually learning more about them and who they all are as people in this world. I found friendships that would challenge me, but in the way that you knew they were still going to catch you in case you fell. And I found out more about myself than I ever imagined.
But I want to warn you. Looking at the world with this view that intimacy is more than an act between people. Looking at intimacy as a choice to bond and grow with another person will at times leave others behind. There will be people that do not go along this journey with you, because they are lacking the confidence to be intimate back or with themselves. You cannot bring those people with you, you can only continue to be true to yourself and the intimate you that you are becoming. People will either join you or leave you, and both are right. You have to be okay with that too. When you start to look at the conscious level of a desired relationship with a person, and begin to form intimate connections with them that go beyond physical, that is when the real world begins. That is when life actually starts to happen. That is the out of the box experience that people always dream about. When we start to look at intimacy as a connection to realize that humans were not created to be alone, but to form connections with others, we can begin to experience a life changing sequence of events.
I challenge you to start forming intimate relationships with your spouse, your children, your father, your mother, your neighbors, your community, your friends, your siblings, the everyday people that you engage with. I challenge you to find that this type of relationship gives you more insight into who you are and who you are destined to be. Because as you start to form these relationships with others around you, you begin to know yourself at a level that is mind blowing and earth shattering. The challenge grows when we start to accept that this is a lifestyle, and we accept that it might actually show us more than we really thought we could handle. It might actually change us.
Keep it bright. Keep it positive.
Intimacy is by definition: a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group. While most people think of intimacy as that next step in a relationship. Intimacy is forming all around us, with each person we are connecting with. It can be difficult for people to grasp this because of how "sexual" we have made the word. But it is not a sexual word. It is actually, a bond. I tested this theory out and would like to share it with you here.
I started to look at intimacy as a conscious choice to be more connected to myself and those around me. I erased the concept of intimacy as a sexual act from my mind and focused on it as a relationship strengthening factor. This is what I found... I found that my interactions with people became stronger, kinder, more loving. I found that I had deeper responses and connections to people that would normally only go surface level. I found that I was able to build upon a foundation and trust the people I was with. I found that I could actually let go of the expectations and enjoy the interactions between myself and another person or group of people. I watched as my friendships blossomed. I saw my relationships with my family bloom. I found that I was actually learning more about them and who they all are as people in this world. I found friendships that would challenge me, but in the way that you knew they were still going to catch you in case you fell. And I found out more about myself than I ever imagined.
But I want to warn you. Looking at the world with this view that intimacy is more than an act between people. Looking at intimacy as a choice to bond and grow with another person will at times leave others behind. There will be people that do not go along this journey with you, because they are lacking the confidence to be intimate back or with themselves. You cannot bring those people with you, you can only continue to be true to yourself and the intimate you that you are becoming. People will either join you or leave you, and both are right. You have to be okay with that too. When you start to look at the conscious level of a desired relationship with a person, and begin to form intimate connections with them that go beyond physical, that is when the real world begins. That is when life actually starts to happen. That is the out of the box experience that people always dream about. When we start to look at intimacy as a connection to realize that humans were not created to be alone, but to form connections with others, we can begin to experience a life changing sequence of events.
I challenge you to start forming intimate relationships with your spouse, your children, your father, your mother, your neighbors, your community, your friends, your siblings, the everyday people that you engage with. I challenge you to find that this type of relationship gives you more insight into who you are and who you are destined to be. Because as you start to form these relationships with others around you, you begin to know yourself at a level that is mind blowing and earth shattering. The challenge grows when we start to accept that this is a lifestyle, and we accept that it might actually show us more than we really thought we could handle. It might actually change us.
Keep it bright. Keep it positive.
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