On Love

All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need.

John Lennon

An article in the Sunday paper suggests "all you need" is the right collection of chemicals in the brain and voila - you have LOVE. Dopamine, released when we do something pleasurable, makes us want to repeat the pleasure. Norepinephrine, a stimulant, can produce sleeplessness, elation, loss of appetite, and butterflies in the stomach. Serotonin, the neurochemical that creates calm, is absent during the first blush of love, but critical to a long term relationship.

Conclusion - our brains are hardwired for love. If it were only that simple.

An article today quoted the results from a Cornell University project that collected "advice for living" from 1200 Americans mostly over 70. Here are their five tips for a successful marriage:

1. Marry someone a lot like you, don't expect to change your mate.
2. Friendship is as important as romantic love.
3. Don't keep score. Give more than you get.
4. Talk to each other.
5. Understand that the relationship is more important than the immediate needs of each partner.

I'm no scientist, but it seems clear to me that a balance of dopamine and serotonin work hand in hand with those five tips.

There's nothing you can know that isn't known

Nothing you can see that isn't shown

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

It's easy

All you need is Love

Love is all you need

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Here is a link to "From Russia With Love".