Hi, In the night! You wrote: " all humans need to be loved by that special other half. " Just a clarifycation, if possible: You probably did not mean it this way, but you make it sound as if "taking" and "needing" are the motives and forces behind relationships. If that's the foundation, failure is guaranteed. Ideally, I think love should be giving and receiving, or "sharing", which sounds even better to me.
Personally, I quite enjoy "being in love", having that feeling emerging from the heart for other living beings
. And by this I don't mean that I am contented just with that and that I don't have the expectation to be loved back! Not because it's a deal, where I give so much to you, so you have to give as much to me, but because love IS energy and it has to flow, circulate, get enriched by the other person's qualities, and if it is "one way", like anything on earth which doesn't get oxygen, it dies.
I think that in most religions, the idea behind monks & co being celibate and not attached to anyone in particular, is that they want to "serve the world" and make their love"universal", far and broad reaching. I will write something in connection with this on the "purity" topic, where several posts converged about detachment for humans and love for God. I think that in many cases the true reason is fear of intimate relationships and inability to love, some kind of dysfunction, trauma, or shortcoming resulting in "escapism". This may merge with the alchool/drugs topic
, Eureka! I see some connection between escapism, addictions and dependencies and sects+religions!!
Always worthwhile, dedicating some time to the Forum addiction!!