Frankly, these are two misunderstood and often misued words in today's society. The youth being misguided to believe that infatuation is true love and can usually not tell the difference between the two.
What is love?
What is infatuation?
Why are the two misunderstood?
In the present day, love is a word that has been overly expressed and lost it's true meaning. Love can now be likened to any fling or crush. There are a billion songs about love, portraying it in forms thay often misguide and confuse. So then, what is love?
Scholars have tried to define love.
Most dictionaries define it as a feeling of strong desire or attraction towards someone, that often includes lust.
Shakespeare said love looks with the eye and not the mind. This turns pointedly to love at first sight, which can also be percieved as lust.
Another definition says Love is battle, love is war, love is growing up, love changes. This can be percieved as persevering and bringing out the best in someone.
Another definiton says love is not gazing at each other but looking outwards together. This can be percieved as hoping and building a future with someone.
There are many more definitions but it is safe to say that love is compilation of many traits. Traits such as loving one as yourself, lusting, friendship and enduring with someone and building with someone.
Ultimately, love consists of eight:
Agape: Godly love.
Eros: Lust
Ludus: playful love
Storge: Family love
pragma: Enduring love
philautia: Friendly love
Philia: Self love
Mania: Obsessive love
All these ingredients become one in True Love. A love that can mostly found in mature relationships and Marriage. You can not have just one of these and truly say you are in love.
What then is Infatuation?
An intense but short lived passion for someone. Note the word "Short-lived". It is that feeling that engulfs you anf makes you yearn for Someone. You would also realize that after some days to months, it is gone.
This is what teenagers usually experience and often mistake as love. Infatuation may consist if just one of the types of love. Ultimate love however does not just occur. It has to develop over time. It may start from a type of love such as eros or philia but it takes time to build real love.
In my next piece i will point out the differences between Real love and infatuation.
