I remember I was chatting with a colleague at my firm’s Christmas party last year. We traded stories about life, recent changes in our personal lives and general plans for the future. Of course we spoke about relationships; the good, bad and ugly of it because that’s what grown folks tend to talk about! I shared my thoughts on the dark side of love to which he was shocked and categorically rejected. I believe there’s a place called pain within pleasure and vice versa. The more something is your source of happiness, the more that thing is also your source of sorrow. These are mutually exclusive feelings but the deeper one goes, in terms of intimacy and oneness, the lines become blurred. When two people really give themselves to each other, they share everything; i.e. their light and equally their dark sides. There’s a part that smiles, cares and adores; there’s also a part that resents, rejects and judges. It might sound absurd because it’s different from what we generally believe on the subject. But please reflect on it before you shoot me down. Believe this is why they say love is like a rose full of thorns.
I would love to hear any feedback, suggestions or stories about your own journey…
Unobservable Life 
I do know exactly what you mean. I’ve often brought up things of this nature only to receive a strange look for it as well. I think the dark side of love comes not only from that blurring of lines, but also from the intrinsic duality that lives within all of us.
I think the biggest contributor to this is that some people just bring out the worst in us, the parts that we try to hide, which are less acceptable in society. Due to this we are drawn to each other like a moth to a flame.
In and of itself I do not believe this is a bad thing, only another ill thought of and less uttered about part of our human nature. If handled with intelligence and self-awareness I believe we need to experience one or two of these just to get a complete understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
In a way those relationships are a wild ride aren’t they? Haha.
Well said manwithredps! A very wild ride indeed. Thanks for your thoughts.