What Is Love Actually?
“Love is a way of knowing and caring for your mate.” That’s the message of Valentine’s Day. What does love really mean to each person?
In general, love is a romantic gesture characterized by passion, intimacy, dedication, and devotion. However, it involves other positive feelings, such as excitement, happiness, life fulfillment, and euphoria, as well. Love between two lovers is an expression of their mutual love, a way to tell the other person that you are into them (and vice versa), and is a way for the lovers to communicate their love to each other. Also, love is a way to develop emotionally. It allows us to express our deepest feelings to another person in a safe and loving way, it helps us to make ourselves vulnerable to another person, it gives us encouragement and courage, and most importantly, it gives us security.
Love also encompasses a relationship of care and bonding, which results from intimacy and affection. In a caring relationship, both partners contribute to the care and safety of each other and each partner feels emotionally supported, nurtured, and valued. The result is better physical health, more positive emotions (emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, interpersonal), and greater well-being. Well-being is the state or condition of being at optimum health. Well-being promotes resilience and adaptation, and improves quality of life.
People may fall into love at first sight, because of physical attraction, because of meeting someone new, or even because of a movie star or athlete they admire. Physical attraction alone cannot sustain a relationship for long. The idea of a lasting relationship depends on a number of factors, including compatibility, emotional compatibility, similar interests and hobbies, as well as similarities in goals, ambitions, beliefs, values, attitudes, styles, habits, etc. A positive attitude, shared goal, and understanding of the other person are other important factors that help create a loving relationship. It can be said that all of us seek love at some level, whether we consciously recognize it or not.
Positive emotions such as love, satisfaction, contentment, happiness, vitality, joy, calmness, patience, strength, serenity, security, and assurance, all reflect a state of well-being. Positive emotions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes lead to a healthy body, a healthy mind, a healthy spirit, and a happy environment. Healthy emotions provide a sense of well-being, as well as peace, happiness, joy, vitality, peace, intimacy, confidence, strength, flexibility, wellness, balance, growth, and well-being. Emotional well-being and physical health are interdependent, dependent, opposing states of mind. The good emotions that accompany adequate levels of physical and mental health are essential for happiness and emotional well-being.
It is interesting to note that although love may be a powerful emotion, one need not be in love with another person to be emotionally connected to them. A partner can be the love of one’s life, if they are nurtured with caring, tenderness, respect, intimacy, acceptance, empathy, understanding, kindness, understanding, compassion, appreciation, and similar feelings. When the love relationship does become intimate and romantic, however, it is imperative that one take steps to preserve the relationship and nurture it from the beginning. If the early love is nurtured and nourished, it will become more precious and lasting, with greater emotional investment and added benefits for our well-being.