Then I was reminded of the exact opposite problem that I had heard just as often, as Tiffany had expressed it: "We had such a romantic, sexual connection. I had never felt that kind of attraction and energy. It was intoxicating. But after we really got into a real �relationship,� there were so many things missing. It seemed like our bodies were in sync, but the rest of us was not. Is there such a thing as �romance without relationship?�" she asked. "As strange as it seems, we really don�t have much of what I would call a real relationship."

There they were, two of the most common problems that I hear in clinical practice, in hosting a radio call-in program, and in speaking to groups across the country. On the one side, there is platonic love without passion; and on the other side, passion without deep relationship. A woman once called our radio show and actually said, "The guys that are attractive are all shallow, and the guys that are spiritual, and deep, are never attractive. There are two types of men out there and I can�t find one who has it all."

Her assessment of the entire male population aside, chances are that single or married, male or female, you might have encountered the problem that she described, and that Sandy and Tiffany experienced. And it naturally poses questions. Is it possible for sexual and romantic love, friendship, respect and admiration, values and spiritual depth, and just "plain enjoyment of another person," to all exist in the same relationship? And if it is, how does a couple sustain such love over time? And even more basic, how do you create romance and passion in the first place? Many people can identify with these questions.

As a psychologist, I can attest that the individual dynamics behind those quandaries differ from person to person, and from relationship to relationship. And although there are answers, they are sometimes neither simple nor easy. But at the same time, common to all the different answers is a need: the need for a vision of a love that "has it all." We all need to see that kind of relationship -- what it looks like, sounds like, feels like, and does -- before we can actually create it. And today, with so many people feeling like their own parents did not provide that kind of vision, and with a culture that often promotes lust without love, we especially need a clear picture of what that love is like.