Avoiding Fatal Attractions...

[Michie]

Theology of the Body

Love and Responsibility – Avoiding Fatal Attractions


A man eating lunch at a restaurant notices an attractive woman at another table, and is immediately drawn to her beauty. His heart stirs, and he finds himself wanting to see her again.

Yet, this is not the first time she has caught his eye. And his attraction to her is more than physical. She works for the same large company, and he has been drawn to her warm personality, her cheerful smile and her kindness toward others. He is taken in by her alluring personality as much as by her natural beauty.

Basic attractions like this happen all the time between men and women.

Sometimes they are felt very quickly: A man standing in line at a store may immediately find himself attracted to a woman he sees walking by. A woman at church may notice a man praying after Mass and find herself wondering about him the rest of the day. Sometimes deeply felt attractions take a longer time to develop: A man and a woman who were friends or colleagues for several months may gradually find themselves attracted to one another emotionally and physically.

In his book Love and Responsibility, John Paul II analyzes the anatomy of an attraction. What is really happening when men and women find themselves attracted to one another?

The Anatomy of an Attraction
Let's begin by explaining a few of the Pope's terms. At the most basic level, to attract someone means to be regarded by that person as a good (p. 74). In turn, to be attracted to someone else means that I perceive some value in that person (such as their beauty, virtue, personality, etc.), and I respond to that value. This attraction involves the senses, the mind, the will, the emotions, and our desires.

Continued- http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2011/11/dr-sri-love-and-responsibility-avoiding-fatal-attractions/

 

[Eastern Drifter]

If that paragraph you cited and my own scan of the page are any indication, his discourse on physical/emotional attraction is scientifically accurate. It's interesting that he used the word "value", because that's what initial attraction boils down to.

 

[Gwendolyn]

This is a really, really good article. Thanks for posting it, Michie.

 

[Michie]

No problem Gwen.

 

[benedictaoo]

That was pretty accurate and generally what we all experienced in our youth. being attracted to someone physically or trying to physically attract someone to you, can be the thing that prevents a relationship from developing when that is the goal, it can be the thing that stops it from happening. its truly better to get to know the person but if your obsessed with them physically- you can't.