The best kind of romance comes from two people developing their own unique, creative capacities and then sharing those with one another.

We spend a lot of time in our culture discussing romantic love, and the possibility of finding someone who loves us and whom we can love.  This is a wonderful thing, of course, for these kinds of interactions are truly the spice of life!  However, a more fundamental question is this: have we developed our own personality and spiritual capacities to a degree that makes US attractive?  Not just physically, but in an inner way?  We live in a consumer society that teaches us to value ourselves according to what we passively take in.  We spend a lot of time consuming the creativity of others - that of the "professionals."  In fact, many "dates" involve consuming someone else's creativity - in the form of a movie, a play, a church activity, a restaurant dinner, etc.  But how about developing our own creativity, and sharing THAT with the beloved!  How about taking a hike - either alone or together - finding a place to have individual retreat time on a warm, sunny hillside, and then sharing the fruits of what we've discovered during that time?  Or perhaps attending a talk together on a meaningful topic and then going out for coffee to discuss it?  Indeed, conversation itself is actually a creative work of art.  In any case, when each partner becomes the uniquely creative person they are meant to be, they thereby become more attractive.  How simple!

Photo: Ice and snow create a unique work of art; The Loch, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; February 8, 2013