Domination & submission _ the BDSM relationship handbook ( PDFDrive )

Chapter 12: Polyamory
Polyamory is the practice of loving, or ability to love, more than one person at a
time. The word is derived from the Latin poly, meaning many, and amor,
meaning love. Polyamory is about multiple loves; not necessarily about multiple
sex partners. Perhaps it would also be best if we establish a working definition
of love before we go much further on this subject. For our purposes, we’ll use
Robert A.
Heinlein’s definition of love, which is, “that condition in which the happiness of
another person is essential to your own.” The elegance
of this definition allows us to sidestep the sometimes thorny problem of trying to
differentiate between romantic love, familial love, sexual love, or any other kind
of love that can be imagined.
If you are one of those people who has a difficult time understanding how loving
multiple partners can be accomplished without
jealousy, instability and strife, consider the love that a mother has for her
children. With each new child that comes along, a mother seems to have an
infinite reservoir of love to share with each new addition to her family.
She doesn’t love her first child any less just because a second child has come
along, nor does she love her second child any less when a third one is born.
Each child is loved for his or her unique and special
qualities, and while their mother may love each in a slightly different way, it is
rare for a mother to love one child significantly more or less than any
other. Do siblings often vie for their mother’s attention, and sometimes
feel shortchanged or jealous? Of course they do. Yet, for the most part, these
feelings rarely lead to destructive behaviors, nor do they undermine their love