The path of Eros is one of intimacy, of the relationship and interplay between states of consciousness. There is a sweet spot, a dynamic tension between sensing the draw toward union while savoring the separation between phenomena.
In this gap, in the in-between where life is taut and vibrating, lies the spot we seek: intimacy. Too merged and we lose the contrast and vividness, too separate and we lose the awe and reverence. Life is most salient on the line between.
We seek the spot in all locations; in the rugged, sublime, rich, dark, fast, empty and quiet. The sweet spot where that gateway of intimacy opens. We want to be intimate with all experience.
Pleasure is not inherent to eating, it occurs when we are intimate with our food. Reverence is not intrinsic in church but asks us to bring ourselves to the altar. Union is not implicit to lovemaking, it occurs when we find this doorway to intimacy within.
To know intimacy then is to liberate all things of the responsibility we put on them to open for us, and to place the responsibility on ourselves to learn the art of opening each thing. For some this may prove too burdensome.
But for others, the promise of a life steeped in this state, where that door opening or closing is not a mysterious accident but a craft that can be developed, proves to be the only way to live.