Lust

Lust.

Things having to do with sex and its enjoyment are pretty much my favorite thing to talk and write about.

And wouldn't you know right now I've got some kind of writer's block about it? I have been looking forward to today's post on Lust for over a week. I worked so hard to manage my topics to save the most fun one for last, and here I am with nothing. I even considered spending the day in intense research (ahem), but no. Call it tryptophan let-down, if there can be such a thing. That or an overdose of pumpkin pie, I can't really tell.

Oh what the hell. Let's give it a shot.

A demon satiating his lust in a 13th century manuscript.

Lust is an human emotion characterized by a heightened state of sexual desire or arousal. It is generally used in relation to love, which denotes more of an emotional connection to the partner, whereas lust is generally considered to be largely, or even exclusively physical in nature.

Again, credit here goes to wikipedia. Bless them for the work they save me from having to do myself.

I find the wiki definition interesting. It credits lust with being an emotion, then says that it is "largely or even exclusively physical in nature." Well, which is it? Emotional? Or physical? Is lust emotional, or is it true, as Ann Landers once said, that infatuation (lust) was "one set of glands calling to another"?

Is lust emotion? Or pure physical response to stimulii? I think as humans, we like to forget that we are also mammals. We are still of the animal world. We are not completely removed from many of our animal instincts. If you have any doubt, step into any nightclub anywhere in the world any evening. Watch as the people inside posture and strut in their attempts to attract a mate, if not for life, certainly for the evening. Observe the social pecking order, notice who is in charge and who is not. Notice who seems to get to pick the most attractive mate and who comes next on the list. Notice the subtle challenges and defenses of "territories" within the surroundings. Notice who wins and who loses and notice how the two "alpha" people will usually leave with each other.

Try this in any kind of night club - gay, straight, lesbian, white, black, hispanic, country club or biker bar, any of them. And when you're done, tell me again how much higer evolved we are than the other species that roam the planet.

Lust is not an evil thing unto itself. It is a natural part of our biological makeup and it serves a purpose. It helps to facilitate the propagation of the species, it bring passion and pleasure to our intimacy, it brings excitement to our lovemaking.

When it becomes sinful in my mind is when we let lust blind us to the humanity of our partner or partners. When lust becomes a problem is when it eclipses the needs of those we are with. Not only is it no fun to be with a lover who thinks only of him- or herself, but I would argue that it is unhealthy for all parties involved. It taxes the soul of the person blinded by lust and it reduces the sexual partner to an object and not a human being. Objectification as part of sex play is one thing, but the true interal dehumanization of one's partner can never be a good thing.

I don't know. I really can't work up a head of steam today. I desperately want to write something passionate and clever and witty about and in defense of lust, but I just haven't got the sand. Not today. Perhaps another day.

Before I started writing this entry, I had logged some 28,400 words in this NaBloPoMo thing. I have tackeled some pretty heavy-duty topics and taken some fun pictures of my work and my little dog. I feel bad going out with this kind of pathetic whimper, but it's all I've got today. Let's see what I can come up with tomorrow.