There’s good reason for this desire for a beloved: We are born into another’s arms and stay in that intimate, dependent relationship for years. Even as adults, we feel safer and more relaxed when there is at least one person who cares deeply about us—that is, unless closeness with another has been a source of great pain in the past. But even then, we probably all want intimacy at a deeper, instinctual level, even if that desire is overridden by fear at times.
