Love this, Logan! Seems like I've found a kindred Medium mind. :) Your language has a nice rhythm and a generous, per

There's a psychology author I love, Stan Tatkin. Have you heard of him? He's a couples therapist, and he writes a lot about couple dynamics. One point he makes is that after awhile we tend to "automate" each other, by which he means we don't really see one another anymore, we see a kind of shorthand mental version instead. That saves energy, but it also blinds us impressively, and deprives us of the kind of experiential richness you describe so beautifully here. And the way out of this automation is just as you say, to really look at our beloved, and see them anew.

I feel like meditation and psychedelics are really good at cutting through the habit patterns, and shaking us awake again...