Love

Love is the most profound and complex of all human emotions. Love is universal and experienced by all in some shape or form. Love transcends beyond the stereotypical boundaries, of who you love, what you love, and how you love. Sometimes people are blinded by mere infatuations and forget the true meaning of love. The sacred emotions of love catapult you beyond mere desires of human feelings, it transpires our understanding of how we relate to the world. Your love for family, friends, and pets feels like another dimension of an unconditional connection. We've all seen how loving someone or something changes us for the better, and how we express ourselves to those we love. Romantic love that goes beyond just a relationship will propel individuals to seek a deeper connection with the person they love. This is often seen in marriages or relationships that truly stand the test of time and are appreciated by all. Everyone hopes they can sustain and maintain such a love, only to be disappointed when life has other plans. Nonetheless, we all can aspire for such love, and try to fulfill that hope. Love is a truly special human emotion that we all cherish. It requires us to invest our time and effort to sustain that connection for a lifetime, regardless of a specific type of love.  It is in our nature to love another, as it is within our growth and development that we are nurtured to love.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

- Martin Luther King Jr

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

- Dr. Seuss

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

- Lao Tzu

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."

- Robert A. Heinlein

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us."

- Helen Keller

"Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit."

- Khalil Gibran

There are various types of love that we will experience in our lifetime. The most important love types are Eros, love of the passionate kind; Philia, love among friendship; Storge, love among family; and Agape, unconditional love. We have experienced all these types, with some being more profound than others. Passionate love encompasses desire as its foundation and is usually intense. Compassionate love involves a deeper level of intimacy and commitment. Any form of platonic love creates a deep bond of companionship that is void of sexual or romantic attachments. Understanding the psychology of love, we must consider the complex emotional, neurological,  and social aspects and how they impact our social connections and overall well-being. As social beings, we require connectedness and healthy forms of bonding that are truly meaningful. Healthy relationships often create a healthy human being, both medically and physically. The physiological effects of healthy love are beneficial to all, and when you are happy, you are often experiencing some form of love. Overall, experiencing love is actually good for you. Why wouldn't you want that for yourself? Love is sustainable only if you are sincere about who you are loving and who you are sharing that love connection with. I sincerely believe that love is not wasted if all those invested in that love are committed.

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind. Nor hath love's mind of any judgment taste; Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste: And therefore is love said to be a child, Because in choice he is so oft beguil'd."

- William Shakespeare

"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature."

- Jane Austen

"Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it."

- Nicholas Sparks

"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings."

- Anais Nin

"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love."

- Carl Sagan

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead."

- Oscar Wilde

I never had the opportunity to have a profound romantic love in my life, due to ongoing chronic illness and disability.  Although I had the privilege of having unconditional love bestowed upon me by friends and family, including two of the cutest toy poodles. No matter how you receive love or an opportunity to find love, it gives you the experience you will cherish forever. I have witnessed unconditional love at its finest, like that of parents, my mentor, and his wife.  My mentor is the living testament to the words 'In sickness and in health until death do us part'. I have seen this dedication to his love and marriage, until the very end when his wife passed from complications.  It is a rarity in today's world of broken relationships and divorces, especially when we meet people who have lasting love. Loving someone without agendas, is truly the pinnacle of lasting love. Like the love for a parent to a child, or a pet to a family member. The love of friendship that can stand the test of time, and surpass one's expectations. Sometimes I wonder if we are truly worthy of love, or if we go through it in phases throughout our lifetime. Love often challenges us to be better, not only to those we love, but to those we cross paths with.  If you are in love, sustain it. If you are loved, cherish it. If you want to be loved, seek it. If you find love, nurture it. When we love, love always finds a way to our hearts' desires.

"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."

- Mother Teresa

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."

- Aristotle

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."

- Dalai Lama

"Love's greatest gift is its ability to make everything it touches sacred."

- Barbara De Angelis

“I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out.”

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation."

- Rabindranath Tagore