Here I am again after many days of absence...

When people are asked, WHAT MAKES YOU TRULY HAPPY? 4 out of 5 people say "a satisfactory personal relationship with the people they love". Erich Fromm stated that the greatest wish humans have is the yearning for a satisfactory relationship. The union between people, the fussion with another human being... translates into LOVE. But are we all really capable of love? In theory, we are all born with the capability to love, but our personality, learned behavior and past experiences are also factors that mold this capacity to love. We form our own "map of love" as we grow and develope into who we are as adults. Pysical and psychological aspects of the person who is to capture our love-interest is marked mostly by influential people in our lives, especially in our early childhood years. This mental representation formed in our heads regarding who our love object should be is what makes us "fall in love" with one type of person and makes us reject others. The relationship we had with our parents clearly shapes our own intimate-love expectations... Going back to our optimistic view of life, in general, the optimistic person facilitates aproximation and stability in a relationship and the pesimistic individual encourages conflicts. Which person are you?