i have fallen in love with writers to an obsessive nature. especially ones I share addiction stories with, like you Mike. -- what I love about Substack is we can purge our deepest vile sentiments more than tell people in our physical realities or families - much like the 12 step rooms - strangers but share a message so deep we feel connected. And like you say, there's some who take it a little too far. I'll send this post to those people (men). :)
I agree. I have done the same thing. Like for instance, with you. I love what you write. And that means that yes, in some ways I’m obsessed with you. But the difference is I don’t let things like that take me into Limerence. Frankly, it is enough to love the way someone communicates. To love their ideas. To love how they express themselves. And yes I might also think you’re pretty cute 😉 but that has no bearing on my love for your writing and communication.
It is a drug. A drug that can heal, and a drug that can drag you through the depths of hell. It’s all in what we do with them.
Someone I admire greatly said much the same thing to me yesterday. Writing, i.e. words, are the new drug. I’d rather be addicted to writing than any drug in the world
this popped up on my feed this morning and i’m so glad it did. i love how you unpack the different ways that words carry power and also how we are ultimately responsible for what we do with them. how we interact below the words and how we take accountability for the power words incite in us. becoming conscious in a world built to put us to sleep in many ways. and we can be asleep to the subconscious while being aware at the same time. i have really struggled in my life to find my intuition and what i call my b.s. radar. i was raised and abused (but forgot due to dissociative amnesia) by someone who created a life long habit of believing words over intuition. and then this created the tendency to fantasize or maybe, as you have called it, limerence, when really i needed to come back to myself instead. love the thought provoking nature of this piece. and i also end many of my posts with ‘i love you.’ as i love you can me intimate or universal. ♥️
Thank you for sharing. Here’s what really stood out to me - what you said about believing words over your own intuition. That is such a profound insight, and I suspect many people who have experienced trauma will recognize themselves in it, including me.
I also love what you said about coming back to yourself instead. I think that's exactly the point. Sometimes the journey isn't toward another person at all. It's back toward ourselves. In my opinion, that’s where it should be.
Finally, I smiled at your last sentence. I agree completely. "I love you" can be deeply intimate, but it can also be a universal expression of our shared humanity. I think the world could use a little more of that.
i have fallen in love with writers to an obsessive nature. especially ones I share addiction stories with, like you Mike. -- what I love about Substack is we can purge our deepest vile sentiments more than tell people in our physical realities or families - much like the 12 step rooms - strangers but share a message so deep we feel connected. And like you say, there's some who take it a little too far. I'll send this post to those people (men). :)
I agree. I have done the same thing. Like for instance, with you. I love what you write. And that means that yes, in some ways I’m obsessed with you. But the difference is I don’t let things like that take me into Limerence. Frankly, it is enough to love the way someone communicates. To love their ideas. To love how they express themselves. And yes I might also think you’re pretty cute 😉 but that has no bearing on my love for your writing and communication.
limerence is my favorite subject matter btw
I feel a limerick on Limerence coming on…
There once was a girl full of vim,
Who insisted my chances were slim.
I said, “Don’t you worry,
I’m in no great hurry…
I’m just here for the archetype, Cyn.” 🤣
oh that’s a fun one. i need to work on a comeback
Take your time.
We publish no limerick before its time.
That way, when it comes,
it will be sublime. 😉
Rudyard Kipling said words are the most powerful drug known to mankind. I concur.
It is a drug. A drug that can heal, and a drug that can drag you through the depths of hell. It’s all in what we do with them.
Someone I admire greatly said much the same thing to me yesterday. Writing, i.e. words, are the new drug. I’d rather be addicted to writing than any drug in the world
this popped up on my feed this morning and i’m so glad it did. i love how you unpack the different ways that words carry power and also how we are ultimately responsible for what we do with them. how we interact below the words and how we take accountability for the power words incite in us. becoming conscious in a world built to put us to sleep in many ways. and we can be asleep to the subconscious while being aware at the same time. i have really struggled in my life to find my intuition and what i call my b.s. radar. i was raised and abused (but forgot due to dissociative amnesia) by someone who created a life long habit of believing words over intuition. and then this created the tendency to fantasize or maybe, as you have called it, limerence, when really i needed to come back to myself instead. love the thought provoking nature of this piece. and i also end many of my posts with ‘i love you.’ as i love you can me intimate or universal. ♥️
Thank you for sharing. Here’s what really stood out to me - what you said about believing words over your own intuition. That is such a profound insight, and I suspect many people who have experienced trauma will recognize themselves in it, including me.
I also love what you said about coming back to yourself instead. I think that's exactly the point. Sometimes the journey isn't toward another person at all. It's back toward ourselves. In my opinion, that’s where it should be.
Finally, I smiled at your last sentence. I agree completely. "I love you" can be deeply intimate, but it can also be a universal expression of our shared humanity. I think the world could use a little more of that.
agree with all of this! and i want to so start a self love revolution! 🙌