A Shared Fantasy

The beautiful thing about desire is that it has the ability to connect people. On its own, it’s like a fire burning from within. In some cases, it might consume us, but those who truly understand the power of desire know that it’s meant to inspire. When we understand it, we allow it to spread throughout us, touching parts of our lives with the curiosity of uncovering more. It’s what fuels passion, our willingness to create. This is how we curate those which are irrevocably beautiful. 

If we can understand the importance of desire, how it can guide us in the direction of understanding what ignites us, what gives us life, then maybe we can stop foreseeing it as inherently evil or strictly tailored by obsession. Desire isn’t the curse of hedonism, it’s a reflection of expressing oneself through a strong yearning. If your desires are something darker, then you should look inside yourself deeper. Explore wounds you may be ignoring, or ones you didn’t realize were there. But when they’re something positive, something that could lead you somewhere greater, that’s a craving worth pursuing. 

In order to experience shared desire, it takes two people willing to be vulnerable. Surrendering to something so powerful takes courage, and in doing so it liberates. This creates connection. It doesn’t matter if it’s short-lived or long-term. The point is, when something sparks in you, and we see it reflecting through the eyes of another, that’s when the possibilities become endless. We’re granting each other the gift of setting ourselves free. It’s how we communicate without words, and witness each other’s vibrancy. 

This is the power of art, especially within the art of eroticism. This is the exchange of energy in the most intimate way, one that’s normally through personal relationships. It’s taking that same energy, trust, and vulnerability and creating artistry from it. This is what gives art the capacity to make us feel. It brings us back into our hearts, into our psyche, and what the incredible public-speaker Kaouthar Darmoni refers to as our “Erotic Capital”.

When we embrace not only our eroticism, but our sensuality, then we’re able to learn more in depth, and nurture this part of ourselves. We’re able to harbor the most enriching relationships, and hopefully encourage others to do the same. 

This is what it means to be a lover, and my love for this specific visual artistry is simply one way of expressing that part of myself.