What do you experience when you fall in love, whether it is platonic or sexual? Take a moment and remember that initial rush of meeting someone who wakes you up, invites you to interact with them in some new and exciting way. You laugh more easily, listen to that person's stories with great interest, and you tell your own stories as though no one had cared to hear them before. You want to see that person, talk to that person, get to know that person. It is a vibrant and fun and wonderful time in a relationship. It is love taking root and beginning to blossom.

One of the experiences I have become aware of in recent months is that I am lighter, happier, funnier, more loving when I am in the company of someone I love and who loves me. In literature and films, this is usually portrayed as being the result of the other person making me happy, better, more complete. I see that differently now.

I am responsible for my own happiness, growth and completion as a human being. Why then do I...