Any kind of novelty or excitement drives up dopamine in the

“Any kind of novelty or excitement drives up dopamine in the brain, and dopamine is associated with romantic love.” Thus speaks Helen Fisher, the great explorer of human passion, who sought to uncover not only the poetry of love but also its chemistry. In these words she reminds us that romantic love is not only the invention of poets and dreamers but also the work of the body, woven into our very flesh through the river of dopamine, the messenger of desire, reward, and joy.

To say that novelty awakens love is to reveal that the human heart longs always for freshness, for discovery, for the unknown horizon. When lovers walk together on new paths, or face dangers, or simply step beyond the ordinary, their spirits ignite. This is not mere coincidence, but the dance of the brain itself: excitement stirs dopamine, dopamine fuels passion, and passion clothes itself in the garments of romantic love. Thus the spark of love is kindled not only by destiny, but by the thrill of what is new.

The ancients told this truth in their myths, though they lacked the word dopamine. Consider the tale of Jason and Medea: their love flared amidst the danger of quests and the wonder of the Golden Fleece. It was not the quiet familiarity of safety that bound them, but the fire of shared adventure. Novelty and peril heightened their passion, though it would later end in tragedy. Their story echoes Fisher’s insight—that love thrives in the presence of excitement, even when it burns too brightly.

History too bears witness. Think of the soldiers and nurses of the Great Wars, who found themselves drawn together with irresistible force. Surrounded by danger, every glance, every touch carried a weight magnified by peril. What in peacetime might have been gentle affection became in war romantic fire, fueled by the brain’s response to fear, risk, and the desperate novelty of life at the edge. In the crucible of uncertainty, love is not weakened but heightened.

Yet Fisher’s wisdom is not only explanation but guidance. For when the novelty fades, so too may the intensity of dopamine, and with it the dizzying euphoria of early romance. Lovers who understand this will not despair. Instead, they will seek to renew their bond through shared adventures, through change, through the deliberate pursuit of the new. To love well is not only to cherish the familiar, but to keep alive the spark of discovery, so that romance does not wither into routine.

The lesson, then, is twofold. First, see that romantic love is both natural and noble: natural, because it is rooted in the very chemistry of the brain; noble, because it binds souls together through wonder and discovery. Second, do not expect love to remain aflame without tending. Just as fire requires new wood to burn, love requires novelty, challenge, and adventure to thrive. Without these, it may cool into companionship—but with them, it can remain a blaze even as the years advance.

Therefore, beloved seeker, let Helen Fisher’s wisdom guide you. If you would keep love alive, do not fear change—embrace it. Travel new roads with your beloved, learn together, create together, face the unknown hand in hand. For it is in novelty that the brain stirs, in excitement that the heart quickens, and in shared discovery that romantic love renews itself again and again, shining like a flame that refuses to die.