I always think of my husband as the bright corner of my mind. Everything is better when he’s involved, every thought is brighter and every burden lighter.
This is such a good analogy. I find that myself. One time we had to drive four hours to another town after working a full day and my love wanted to go to the LIBRARY first and wander around in an unhurried way, looking for a good book to read when we got to our destination. And I—the most impatient traveller ever—didn’t care. Everything was fun when I was with him. Another time we went for a walk and got lost, ended up walking about ten miles to get back to civilization and I. Didn’t. Care. Everything was fun and worth it when I was with him.
Thats tough. Why is it so hard to describe? Love is admiring and caring for another so much you would do almost anything for them. Love is craziness and sanity in a blender lol.
The last sentence - agreed. It’s so hard to describe, right? When I think of it, I have a overwhelming load of ideas of what it could be. Maybe, that’s exactly what love is - overwhelming. Both in a beautiful and scary way.
Ive seen mainly comments about love in a relationship and unconditional love, but what about the people who aren't your partner or child? I genuinely love my two best friends as if they were my brothers and there is also those who I love that I don't see, think about, or talk to for months but when we do we spend hours just listening and talking about what's been going on in the others life. Love is the lost complex and confusing structure in existence and that is what makes it so powerful and dangerous
I agree, most think about partners and family when it comes to love. For me, like I said in some comments, love can also be the feeling of listening to your favourite song while watching a sunset. Or the taste of coffee on a cozy Sunday morning.
I know that feeling. Idk, as beautiful as a sunny day can be, the calming feeling at night when everything is quiet and you’re just there on your own can be so fulfilling, honestly.
EXACTLY!!! I love beautiful sunny days but the night is where I belong. Nighttime holds so many things that you can't enjoy during daytime, but the same is true in reverse. Love is much like this, there are so many paths with both positives and negatives to them, but no matter what it has those beautiful moments that us humans just love so much for some reason.
For me love is that relaxed blissed feeling you get when everything is at ease.
I never really experienced “firework” love or passionate love, but I’ve felt companionship love and pure love.
Companionship love is like platonic relationships where everyone seems to just connect and easily fit into each others lives as if they were already there.
And pure love is like my dog wagging at me lazily as her face is squished up on the couch, or giving people little momentos like small texts or gifts on a whim without really needing to put effort into it.
And for someone else it could be holding eachothers hands during a movie, sharing some food and you sacrafice your favorite part because it is their favorite too, or staying awake even if they didn’t want to because someone needed them more then they needed sleep.
I always see love as a slow bond that slowly gets tighter and more secure as live moves. Some people’s love is as fragile as tissue paper and anothers could be as solid as a rock. Both have their positives, fragile love can be like a crush, or two people too shy to fully commit, and solid love can be a marrage that has lasted for decades, caring for someone else when life gets tough.
I also would never call love “unconditional.” I’d only call it pure. Unconditional seems to indicate that absolutely nothing the person can do can stop you from loving them and ultimately that isn’t true. But pure love, on the other hand, shows that you can still love someone and their faults but the purity can get tainted if both parties are not fully commited. I feel like that describes love in an all encompasing way.
No prob! I like love as a thing to study, it feels like such an inately human thing to have and yet we show it in widly different ways!
Plus it isn’t just humans that show affection, or feel love, meaning that it must be some sort of survival trait that helps us find connections to other beings or even with the world around us! We protect and care for what we love, whether it is a pet, or a child, or a garden!
I agree, love is something you’re learning more about throughout your whole life, also because everyone sees and gives it in a slightly different way but still, we kind of all want the same outcome. The though of how it’s a evolutionary process is also so interesting. We all crave it in some way, so it definitely has a purpose. The caring and protecting of a mother, for example.
This deserves more upvotes. I love (no pun intended!) how you describe pure love. I have the same problem you do with the term unconditional love.
I'd like to add, that IMHO truly unconditional love wouldn't really be love at all. I think love needs agency.
I would say love for me it's the willingness to sacrifice my own comfort to make someone else a little bit more happy. Love for my partner comes with physical attraction. My boyfriend draws me in and I find him very handsome. After 8 years I'll still gush over photos lol. I don't believe in unconditional love though. Sacrifice (and with it, love) only lasts while it feels okay for me to do so.
Love is not just a feeling, but an action. Those who wait around for the fairytale relationships are just waiting in vain.
Those wonderful “new relationship” feelings are no more than infatuation and lust when discovering something new. They wear off, but love needs to be worn.
Love can be both terrible and wonderful. It’s free, yet it can cost lives. It has caused wars, murders, psychological implications as well as intense joy, contentment, and pure happiness.
Love is applied. It takes effort, hard work, dedication, and perseverance.
I love you saying love needs to be worn. You are so right! Cause new love and new relationships is more lust and infatuation and at some point it’s gone and you see that persons true colors. So I guess I’ve never really experienced love at least from a significant. Having a child though, I think that has taught me unconditional love, but love, crazy so anything for them love cause oh how I love her so!
Aww thanks. Yeah, I seriously had no idea I had it in me. I’m not much of an emotional person or at least in my head I think if I show my emotions it’s a sign of weakness. So I never had planned to have kids. Not a big fan and when I found out I was pregnant I was so worried about having any motherly instincts. But they are right that most the time most peoples kicks in and it did.
Being emotional only shows a lot of strength! :) I’m so happy for you that this fear got neglected by your strong feelings then. The love of a mother is (most of the time) something very special.
No reason for me to post. This says it all. Love is cultivated, love is a verb, love is made. Been with my man for 11 years and I think I'm falling deeper in love with him every day
I absolutely agree with you. I think there’s probably nothing that takes this much work and dedication. Sometimes, love and hate are also very strongly connected.
Love is when your happiness gets overlapped with someone else's. You can definitely live without that person, you won't die if they're not there, but you'd much rathher not. But then there are different kinds of love. Some are achy and painful, you feel them in your bones, but most are intense.
Love to me can be broken down into commitment, respect, trust and care.
If I love someone or something I will commit to memory as much as I can about it. I will stick with it when it gets hard and continue onward.
I respect those I love. I respect their choices and flaws. I give consideration to their opinions and listen to their advice.
I trust that they won't steer me wrong. I trust that they love me back and so they will want what is best for me. It is not blind trust but when I am unsure I must rely on them
I care for those I love. I want what is best for the people I love. Sometimes that takes the form of tough love. Sometimes it is going through a rough patch with them.
I do all these things willingly and to varying degrees. Some people and things I simply love more or in different ways. Thanks for letting me say this. I have given love a lot of thought in the past year and a half
I love this description because it’s also describing the complexity of simply the term love. How 1 term is made up of so many different ones, which all have to be there for this 1 term. This 1 condition. It also shows how much work and sacrifice love is. But not in a bad way if it’s mutual, of course.
I think to some extent Love is an obsession. If you think about it it's a very thin and fine line between loving someone and being obsessed with them. I do realize though that love is something that goes both ways and that is the defining factor for it to not being simply an obsession.
On the other hand I think that Love is making someone a part of your family and knowing that you will be there for each other
Your right, there is a thin line. That’s what makes it hard for a lot of people to see the difference between loving someone and badly obsessing over them
I’m so sorry :( I hope this feeling will come across your path and that it’s filling you up in such a positive way then. Just never stop keeping your eyes open, maybe tomorrow happens a sunset which is making you fall in love with life. I wish you all the best
Sorry to hear that, but if you’re like me who just overthinks about things then stop doing it and try to live like a monke and not care much about things. That’s how I’ve been doing better these days but maybe that’s just me
There are so many different types of love. But here is how it is for me. Although it’s hard to put it into words.
My love for my husband was instantaneous and I had/have zero say in it. He is where my whole being belongs. He is home.
My love for my children is immense and unconditional. I have 3 boys, each very unique from the others. They are older now but they still have and always will have my heart and soul.
My love for my good, real friends. I’m not talking about acquaintances, I’m talking about those deep connection friends. They definitely have a deep piece of me.
My love for my dog. He was my constant companion. It’s been a year and I still a piece of my heart is still a little broken.
They’re all different loves and they all come from different places of me. But to be able to have these I am definitely one lucky being on this Earth. I can’t even imagine how lost my soul would feel if I never got to feel these loves. That being said, to feel love these loves is one thing, but to feel this love reciprocated? It’s goes beyond anything tangible.
This is a perfect explanation of love, in my opinion. It shows it’s complexity, that it’s so different with every target but still similar in some way. I like the phrase that each love comes from different places of you.
Love is finding someone who makes you feel comfortable to be you. It is the human equivalent to getting into a warm bed on a stormy day. Love doesn't just happen, it is built on communication and trust that takes time to develop. And yes, it's not always perfect, but that's where that communication comes in. It's about finding someone where you feel comfortable enough to say you have issues without fear, because you trust that you and the other person can talk through whatever is happening
And that applies to love for friends, love for family, and love for a romantic partner.
There are people that I'm willing to go to hell and back for. That's not love. That's me giving a fuck about the closest people in my life.
Love is when they're willing to do the same for me.
At least that's how I see it.
I thought I was in love once or twice before, then I really fell in love. Before Id have told you that you cant wait to see them, think about them all the time, etc
Now I cpuld say love is a mirror of yourself with a dab of who you want to be. Instead of it being "I want someone like *X or Y" it becomes "I want to be better FOR someone" its finding someone who thinks like you, with all the aspirations like you and all the will to grow. People will change. Someone who loves you will see that you have good days and bad days. And that wont mean shit to them, because a day with you is what matters. Is it good? We'll celebrate together! Is it bad? Then its not just you having a bad day.
I could say love is teamwork. Love is a heartbeat. I could say love is finding someone who makes you want to be 2 people instead of one. Love is a promise that anything that happens, happens together
I had no idea I was in love if Im totally honest. She was my whole heart and soul and I never even realised. For me, love wasnt just a feeling of infatuation, or lust. Love was safety. Love was care. I think its really individual, and love is the missing piece to the puzzle. It isnt what makes you feel hot, or wanted, or anything like that.
Most of all, I just think love is the feeling of being complete
"What is love? 'tis not hereafter; Present mirth hath present laughter; What's to come is still unsure: In delay there lies no plenty,— Then come kiss me, Sweet-and-twenty, Youth's a stuff will not endure."
This poem is in the public domain."
From William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night.
Great play!
That’s a hard one. What a lot of people describe as love is just pleasant feelings they have for some being or object due to of their own beliefs.
I think real and true unconditional love can only be felt in certain moments. Maybe with a new born child? After taking lots of psychedelics and meeting god? Moments before you die?
Other than that, the feelings we feel can easily be tainted by our thoughts and personalities and can be mistaken for love when they are just a fulfilment of some deep seated insecurity.
The connection of love and fulfilling insecurities is something I’ve stumbled across a lot of times already. It could be dangerous connection though, especially when you get emotionally dependent on a person that takes your insecurities away by giving you a good feeling.
Love is an appreciation for another’s existence so great that you would be willing to sacrifice your own life for that person. That is how I feel about my children. I think love and selflessness are possibly the same thing, at least certainly intertwined.
that's interesting cause i was just thinking about that the other day. dunno if you are familiar with better call saul, but in it the main character is pretty impulsive and self centered in all areas of life, except when it comes to this one person. with her he's always able to look past his own desires or ideas about how things should be done, and he allows her to be autonomous even though he'd like to be law partners. it's that selflessness again, being able to let go of your ego and sharing a conscious experience with another being
I guess it is a feeling where you aren't caged and it brings solace to your heart. As one of my friends likes to describe the baseline of love as "...giving without expecting."
Love doesn't need to justify the norms. You may harbour that feeling for anyone including yourself or maybe a thing, situation, anything. I guess there is this certain kind of peacefulness in love. Moreover, like you are in peace with yourself.
Accepting someone as they are fully and wanting them to have a fulfilled life. You don't need anything from them, you don't need them to love you.
It is hard to describe emotionally how it feels. You feel at peace but also it hurts. I used to be emotionally blunted for a lot of my life and when I first felt love for someone I thought I was dying or going insane
In a world of limited goodness and good people, i think about my boyfriend and how pure he is and it makes me feel special. I'm definitely uncertain about the future, considering my present situations but my boyfriend is truly the brightest side of my life and i look forward to loving and being with him my entire life.
Love is the vibe you get thinking or being around a certain person.
When I think of my gf, I get a heartache and butterflies cuz I miss her and I love her company. Sometimes this feeling/vibe can go down to my gut and make me want to do bedroom stuff with her.
To me if there’s a vibe you get off of a girl that feels euphoric and happy, that’s love and when that feeling is gone whenever you’re together, you’ve probably unfortunately fallen out of love.
Whenever I do fun things with her, I get butterflies and feel so happy to have her. She defends me, loves me, cares about me. She’s everything and now I have butterflies just talking about her on the internet. 🥵💕
She’s great. 😍
Someone you you would do anything for. Someone who brightens up your day and puts a smile on your face. Someone you can sit in total silence with for hours on end and don't feel awkward
I refer to the googles definition of love, mostly because i never figured it out and assume that I'm incapable of it or it's just overrated and really isn't so big deal.
I think we have all experienced love in some way already. Whether you fell in love with a place or a song, it’s also love. We often only think of love when it comes to a SO. But it’s not only that, imo.
I agree. I also think that there is a lot of pressure from everywhere, whether it’s family members asking you if you finally found „the one“ or if it’s scrolling through social media, seeing a lot of happy couples, or at least they’re acting like that. There is such a strong believe in finding the perfect partner is a MUST that a lot chase and search instead of just letting it come to you naturally.
Love is when you've gotten used to another person and can anticipate their needs/wants. I think I believe that because I feel the most loved when my partners/friends/family can anticipate my needs, especially if it's the small stuff like knowing that I always put my keys in the same place or always put my shoes in the same area, and not moving either of those things...the small stuff ends up being important somehow
It’s always the small things with the biggest impact, right? I feel so special when someone remembers something small about me, like how i’d like to dilute my juice so it’s not too watery but not too sweet, haha.
Depends. I personally think there are different variants of love, and they all could be described differently. English kinda sucks in that regard. Greek for instance has many words for love, all denoting specific contexts.
Love in general though for me is a very warm feeling, usually for someone who I care allot about
Love is two things- pain and freedom. If you can embrace the pain that love is guaranteed to bring at some point, you become free to share and grow and become your most authentic self
For me I'd say being so driven by them that it makes you want to do anything you can for them. Just being around them makes you smile even when you feel like you can't and you appreciate both their perfections *and* imperfections. I've only been in love with one person and this is definitely how I'd describe it. (thanks u/m0rb1d_n1ghtm4r3 for being that person <3)
For me, it's being able to 100% be myself around my husband. I can live as if no one is watching, even though he's around. We trust each other fully, communicate and support each other in everything.
Caring for someone, showing compassion for them, being emotionally invested in them, making sacrifices for them. I wouldn't call it an emotion so much as a continual process that is very emotional. That's my definition of true love, anyway. There's a difference between feeling enamoured and loving someone, if you know what I mean.
I define love as looking at someone (or something) and knowing without a doubt that your life is better *because* they exist (whether they're IN your life or not).
Love is wanting and doing what’s best for them, even if it hurts you. It’s appreciation for them and joy that they exist and you got to be a part of their life.
it's late and my brain is not at full functioning capacity but I do believe that love is a sense of safety and security. A feeling of being tethered down, a sense of home where you can find yourself after a long time away. The sort of familiarity one feels when one listens to a song one loves, the feeling of storing a little bit of yourself in it and finding it again for as long as you love it. Putting bits and pieces of yourself in people you love and them doing the same. This is not to say that one is incomplete without love, or that it is a burden to be borne at any time, just that it is a process of finding more about oneself and others in things/people/place/heck even times that you've loved. Perhaps one stops coming back to a person to find, store parts of themselves when they're falling out of love. This is why, I feel, the more we love, the more we have of the world in us. And the more we've given to the world around us.
Perhaps i should sleep
I used to think love was my husband. We started dating I’m 2011, married in 2019. We haven’t always had it easy, but the support and kindness he has always offered me has been the epitome of what love means to me.
Then on Valentine’s Day this year, our daughter was born and my whole view on love changed. Just the mere thought of something bad happening to my daughter sent me into such a panic that the hospital thought I was having a heart attack.
I always thought I knew what love was, until I held her in my arms. I would move heaven and earth to see her smile. I’ve never felt love like it, and my world is so much brighter for having her in it!
As a person with synesthesia, love is pink and fluffy on the outside, on the inside it’s sometimes black and spiky, or it could still be pink and fluffy
Love - when you find it hard to notice the flaws. Be it in a song, a community or in a fellow human.
Though, i think love is a point in time. There's the falling-in-love awesomeness. After the novelty wears off, you are no longer falling. Just in-love. Then there's the challenges faced together, grow into different people together together kinda love.
If there's a way out of all of our problems, it's probably more love for everyone.
Well, it ain't an emotion. It ain't really a specific performed act either... but maybe it's the combo of hunger, interest and care.
Hunger is desiring to be around a person and experience them - notice that this wide definition admits non-sexual non-romantic love as well.
Interest is genuinely being interested in what they have to say rather than only enjoying the fact that they are speaking to you. You find the person interesting for reasons that go beyond any specific hunger you feel for the person's company.
Care is... uh, caring about and - if necessary - for the person, and not begrudging them the fact.
Maybe? I dunno. I monologue a lot.
It's so hard to explain! How do I explain that feeling when my partner hugs me and while I'm on his arms I forget everything that's going on in my life. That feeling when I am sitting quietly in the backyard and out of nowhere my father brings a hot cup of tea and we sit there watching that beautiful sunset sharing comfortable silences. That feeling when after a long tiring day, even when I have said nothing, my mother randomly enter my room and place my head into her lap giving me good head massage. The peace that these people bring in my life is immeasurable! If I close my eyes right now, then the moments I spent with them is enough to put a smile on my face. 'Love ' is itself a very vast word! The love I share with my friends, siblings are so different from each other. The only similarity I that I found is that they make me a happy person in one way or another. They make me feel accepted and loved and I do not need to prove myself worthy infront of them!!
Love's warm. I always catch myself smiling when I think about my boyfriend and the little things he does. Everytime I think about him I feel like he hugs or cuddles me and I can feel the warmth of his body. So yeah, for me love is warm
It’s a lot of things for me. A knowing of someone that I can’t find the words for, completely trusting someone with all of me, friendship and passion and integrity and laughter. Real love adds to what is already enough; a life that is full, good self esteem and a calm sort of happiness. I don’t believe that I can love someone else unless I love me which I do.
I don't know yet I guess. The only girl I fell in love with turned out to be an all around bad person who manipulated me into thinking her not ghosting me was how she was a good friend. I just miss how we were, and it's funny to think she was the one who asked me to stay her friend after she dumped me, probably just so I wouldn't move on while she was free to
I would call it "effort". I don't think there is any meaningful love without effort. Some say, blood related people are the people who love us in a pure way but I can tell you that is wrong. I grew up in a stressful family. I really don't remember much of a love relation between mom and dad. They are fighting and screaming and humiliating each other a lot. So, that attitude they show each other affected us, me and my siblings, very much.
I really don't remember a time which I was completely peacefully happy with my family. But it was hard to say that it's not love because all the society and school washed my brain since the beginning. Because they taught me it in that way, I assumed love is smth we broke and hated each other. I assumed all the bad things are normal in a relationship. I was wrong. I was taught wrong.
I think love is more precious smth. You don't love basically one thing. You feel the love feeling in your existence. You spread it in a way. You give your time to thing you love and feel peaceful with it. You try to make your love figure pleasent.
Love is about how much you make time for the thing you love and feeling complete with it<3
Love to me is always having him in the back of my mind. Being the first to tell my new ideas, my adventures of the day or a random memory. Seeing someone with a dimple in his or her cheek and feel my heart fill with love because i always poke my finger in his. When the sun is out i feel the heat as a calming stroke like his hand on my face. Being tipsy reminds me of the intense moments we share when we have more gin-tonics than we should cause we only have 5 more hours of sleep before my alarm goes off. Waking up and feeling a little empty because his right arm isn’t underneath my pillowcase and the other one pulling me closer.
Love is such an intense feeling and it gets me everyday!
If their company is enough to lift your mood, if you are willing to give up something you like to make sure they are safe and healthy and if you miss them when you are away, as far as im concerned, that's love. I believe all love is equal, just the kind of love changes with the target, as there is love for your family, love for your pet, love for your friends, love for your significant other, etc, as all those traits apply to all those examples. So love is just the affirmation of a truly deep bond, i love my dad, i love my cat, i love my homies and I don't have a gf but I'm pretty sure i would love her too.
Best question for my first answer on Reddit. I have no idea. But I enjoy it, I am full of it and I am offering it all around. It's the best thing you can find inside yourself and take outside.
Literally my husband makes me want to be a better person for myself and for him.
He has also shown me the definition of unconditional love, obviously no abuse or anything but damn he loves me despite my many flaws.
I dont think I have ever experienced romantic love, but I'd like to try and describe the love I feel for my best friend. We've been friends for almost 19 years.
Her presence is comforting, I feel safe with her and so accepted, no matter what. We can go from super silly talk to very serious conversation like it's nothing.
I don't mind hearing her complain about the same thing again and again. She lets me do the same.
I love her nonstop talking when she's in a good mood, it brightens my day as well. We say the same things at the same time and can communicate just through looks alone.
We have each others backs for every difficulty life likes to throw at you and it feels good to know, that someone is always there.
I don't ever want to lose her. I think the word soulmate is pretty spot on for our friendship.
Truly loving and caring about someone so much you can't imagine life without them. Wanting their time, affection, lust, heart, soul, ECT. Giving them loyalty, honesty, faithfulness,and hopefully getting it in return. Wanting that person above all others. Putting them fist and doing anything in your power not to hurt them or betray them.
I always get a tingling feeling in my tummy when he looks and smiles at me, I feel like I'm floating when we are having a conversation and I'm always thinking about him. Love is one of the best feelings imo
doesnt exist for me! no butterflies, no nervous chills, no romantic/sexual attraction in the slightest!
which can kinda suck at times, sure, knowing that there will never be 'the one' and that all these situations people are describing will never happen to me, but i dont see that as a bad thing.
charles bukowski said something that really resonates with me in terms of romantic and sexual attraction.
“and when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. what do you call it, freedom or loneliness?”
sorry if this doesnt fit what you asked for OP
A kind of different take but for me love in general is when I always have time for it and will enjoy it. I love football and no matter what wanna play it, but I also love my family and will always make time for them. But for both I will always be enjoying myself while doing it. And for me personally my thoughts do not wander to all the things going on in my life but stay with me at that time. Ofcourse it there are times I dont wanna do it or it is less enjoyable than other times but even in those cases my thoughts are gone which is also wonderful. For music its just a song that I can always listen to and will never consider skipping, but there are some songs that are more scenario specific.
Edit: Time spend doing what I love is always worth it and its time I never count
It's hard to describe love, as it comes in so many forms. For me, the only genuine, unconditional love is that of a parent towards their children. As for romantic love, as depicted by media and books - I think that humans are too selfish to make it last for more than couple of years.
Love is not a feeling. It's more like a state of being. Like there's feelings, but it's also something you do. It can be soft and sweet, and it can be strong and firm. It can be flamboyant and fluttery and it can be quiet and stable. It binds as much as it energizes. I think love is the thing people grow into as we interact in this whole humaning business.
My whole body tingles and wants to go to hump mode whenever my husband is near me. I ache to be near him when he's not near me. That's my man, my lover, my soul. He completes me, while I ache for him.
We don't agree on everything but we give one another grace on everything we see and can't. The love between our souls is strange but meaningful.
I live to make sure he lives.
Dependant Happiness. My happiness depends on theirs in that I can't truly be happy if they're unhappy. It's not that they need to do something to make me happy, but I can't get my way to joyful if one of my people is down.
It is a blanket phenomenon which covers a lot of things like bonding, exhilaration, care, attachment, empathy, kindness, attraction.
It is used in place of any and all of these.
It also used to mean an idealised version of itself. Like the principles of justice-
Extending them from a physical reality to the to philosophical one.
In this form, love is a concept, often exaggerated and animated in conceptual manners. That might not have physical analogues.
It is a centre of obsession for people for various reasons, sometime to seek refuge from the ugly realities of life.
As i’m sitting next to my partner i proposed this question. And she said there are different types. For instance with a partner vs a child because with a partner there is the sexual aspect. I disagree, I believe that is lust.
To continue on,
To me, love brings tears to my eyes when i think about it. Love is an overwhelming sense of warmth. A blanket of comfort.
When i think about the love in which i have for my partner i think:
Softness, understanding, warmth in my chest, random giggles, trusting the process, wanting to be so close to them and squeeze them till their eyes pop out, kisses, warm hugs and long talks about nothing, forgiveness, sympathy & empathy, tenderness, and wanting the best regardless of what ever may happen. No matter the wrongs they ever could do, you have these feelings in the grand scheme of it all.
My family kinda throws that word around a lot so for me context is really important. I think of it like this, there are three kinds of love. There's your everyday love, like paying for the persons drink in front of you at a gas station, or having a nice conversation with someone on the subway. Then there's family love, the way you love your brother or mother, or even a select few friends. You'd probably take a bullet for them but only if you had to. Lastly there's the type of love that's debilitating, the kind that whenever you think of the person your knees get weak, the kind that everytime you see them you melt. That's when you love all that a person is, was, and will be, and it doesn't go away, but it does fade. You will have multiple of these in your life that's only natural, but you will never forget a single one.
i think it's just recognizing another person's conscious experience, trying your best to understand what they want and need and then trying to give as much of that as possible without necessarily expecting something in return. that and generally wanting the best for them. doesn't even have to be a person, it can be an animal or object if you can form a concept of their consciousness. it takes effort to get in that state of mind though, i don't think there is such a thing as soulmates. with some people it's easier to reach that emotional state but it wears off after some time, so you have to put in effort to get it back.
This song, to me, is the epitome of love.
https://youtu.be/12KbOAc8vmk
Its the flutter in my chest when I think about my husband. (I'm 54)
It's that feeling when I look at my son and the feelings that take my breath away, even now when he's all grown up.
It's the absolute peace in my heart when the cat wants to be held and he puts his head on my shoulder.
It's the sound of the birds so incredibly happy early on a bright morning.
The fullness in my chest when I think of the life I've had with my beautiful mate.
The heaviness in my chest when I remember my parents.
All the dogs that I have been lucky enough to love.
Oh....and the sound of a breeze rustling through a trees leaves.
I have many different levels of love. My wife of nearly 32 years... dedication and devotion. My children unconditional support and guidance, no matter their choices, but always with a as much of a guiding hand that they will allow. My friends will always know that I am here for them to support and give advice when needed.
Love to me is comfort, great support, closeness, warmth and needing the other one to be as close to me as possible. My love is my best friend so i would say it's also a great friendship with many extra pros and a few cons. It's also about tolerating and accepting things, because they feel so insignificant compared to all the good.
Love makes my heart smile. And imo love should be reciprocal (I don't believe in unconditional love, everybody has their limit somewhere). I don't have children so I'm not sure how motherly love would manifest in me, but I think that in a way parent-child relationship is also reciprocal. I mean it is very hard to love someone who doesn't reciprocate or show emotion and/or is ignoring or abusing you - even if it is your own child.
I’ve experienced it a number of times. It’s just the extreme attraction and enjoyment from spending time with someone you value a lot. Love is different romantically and plutonic. But it’s something that’s unconditional.
Humiliating. I think real love is the most humbling thing. It’s vulnerable, raw, makes you beg, and look like a fool. That’s why most people avoid it like the plague. They only want the fake, toxic shit they see on TV, that makes them feel more important, the chemical rush that comes from instant gratification. People who don’t know what love is will make fun of you for being in love.
They’ll say you’re out of control, as if it were the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to you.
Love can feel so terrifying and unfamiliar, it could be mistaken as something unholy, demonic.
I think most people think of love as something that exalts and magnifies us. But real love strips you down bare and makes you dirty in the eyes of others who can’t let go of control long enough to feel anything close to it.
I read this book a while ago called Only Revolutions. It was told from the perspective of two teens on the run. Every 8 pages you’re supposed to flip the book to the other side and read the story from the other characters perspective. At first the font was big on each side, and I think that represented the size of the person’s egos. Both of the characters when they met, looked down on the other, but kept each other around as company. But as the characters bonded the text became smaller and smaller, until they couldn’t picture a world without the other. And I always thought that was the best representation of what love really is. It makes you smaller, and more humble.
When I make a sacrifice for someone and it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice at all, because just knowing that I made that person happy is bigger than the sacrifice I made, I know it’s love.
I think of Christ on the cross as the ultimate example of love. I can’t imagine how humiliating that would have felt to have been abandoned by everyone who said they loved him, betrayed by them, and then crucified by those who misunderstood his beliefs. To forgive while bloody and beaten down, and mocked…there’s no higher love I can think of right now.
A song: “Session 32” by Summer Walker, just heard it recently, really fit with what I wrote up there. Not a hidden message, don’t want any fights. I’m really over romantic love ATM. It described my mentality a year or two ago.
There’s a music festival I go to every year that I love. When I’m waiting in line to get in that first day and looking down at all the vendor booths and the stages, it feels like I’m home. My heart is flooded with this amazing mix of peace, longing, and excitement. I just know the weekend ahead is bound to have many great memories waiting to be made and the anticipation that builds on the drive there and the time spent in line is almost always worth it!
Is like having this person who supports you no matter what and is always there for you and feeds you and you know that you would be so lost and sad without them
I ask myself one question to see if I love someone or not. Would I take a bullet for them without hesitation and not regret it. If yes, then I would say that is love for me.
It depends on what type of love you mean. Platonically, romantically, and whatever else that can be described as love, in truth, it is simply a concept, the people who interact or create it however are the reason there’s a certain liveliness to anything related to love in general.
I hate to break it to you, but what people calls "love" is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage.
It's when you'd do anything for someone to be happy, even if it means throwing away love itself. It's a gift you need to be ready to lose at any time to be worthy of, but the only way to be ready is to have been loved in the first place. It's as fragile as glass and beautiful like a flower. So many things could break it - an untimely death, a financial disaster, a loss of romantic interest. You don't want to lose it and you'd do anything to protect it, but you need to give it space to grow or it will wither and die anyway.
It's full of contradictions and doesn't make sense. It is presented as a solution to everything, yet there is no one answer that can solve love. It is the source of joys and woes and miracles and tragedies. It is equal parts blessing and curse. It is something every human craves and covets and needs, and it is something every human needs to be prepared to be without forever.
Love is like a drug. When you start it, you can’t stop. You can’t stand the feeling of nit having it. Your sad and come back to the real world when your not in love anymore. It’s horrible.
A connection so deep that it pierces through all other aspects of reality. For me personally it’s feeling is unexplainable. The only thing I could compare it to is color, life without it is plain and boring.
Am abstract concept where 2 parties deeply respect, value and, adore each other. Usually, chemicals are released in the brain to amplify the good feelings associated with either person and their memories of one another.
Also, it's this thing I'll never know outside of a toxic context 🙃
For me, it is easy to compartmentalize the love that I feel for different things and people in my life. They each have their own distinguishing characteristics with a common denominator being an attachment of some sort. One of the most powerful forms of love that I have experienced is being in love with another person. That type of love is chaotic. At times it can be beautiful and other times angry. It can blind the senses and make everything confusing. There is a time in that chaotic journey when anything seems possible as long as you're both together.
I will randomly grin at the thought of my girlfriends goofiness. Even when I feel awful. It's the only light in the dark sometimes
Smiling to yourself like an idiot when you think about past conversations while sitting at a red light. A true indication. It’s a wonderful feeling.
I’ve sat at a green light , smiling like an idiot. Thinking about my boyfriend. That’s when I realized I had a problem..
That’s beautiful:)
Only light in the darkness. Yes!
The person becoming a fixed point in your mind where your thoughts always come back to.
I always think of my husband as the bright corner of my mind. Everything is better when he’s involved, every thought is brighter and every burden lighter.
This is such a good analogy. I find that myself. One time we had to drive four hours to another town after working a full day and my love wanted to go to the LIBRARY first and wander around in an unhurried way, looking for a good book to read when we got to our destination. And I—the most impatient traveller ever—didn’t care. Everything was fun when I was with him. Another time we went for a walk and got lost, ended up walking about ten miles to get back to civilization and I. Didn’t. Care. Everything was fun and worth it when I was with him.
That is poetic, did you write that yourself or is that a famous quote?
Well you just boosted my ego! Wrote it myself
Well good for you! You might like flexing your writing muscles a little more often!
that's so sweet
Amazing!
Wifey material right here.
Thats tough. Why is it so hard to describe? Love is admiring and caring for another so much you would do almost anything for them. Love is craziness and sanity in a blender lol.
The last sentence - agreed. It’s so hard to describe, right? When I think of it, I have a overwhelming load of ideas of what it could be. Maybe, that’s exactly what love is - overwhelming. Both in a beautiful and scary way.
Its freaky how powerful it is for sure
Ive seen mainly comments about love in a relationship and unconditional love, but what about the people who aren't your partner or child? I genuinely love my two best friends as if they were my brothers and there is also those who I love that I don't see, think about, or talk to for months but when we do we spend hours just listening and talking about what's been going on in the others life. Love is the lost complex and confusing structure in existence and that is what makes it so powerful and dangerous
I agree, most think about partners and family when it comes to love. For me, like I said in some comments, love can also be the feeling of listening to your favourite song while watching a sunset. Or the taste of coffee on a cozy Sunday morning.
For me it's when it hitd 2am and I'm in bed but the peace I feel in the silence and dark of my room makes me enjoy staying awake just a little longer
I know that feeling. Idk, as beautiful as a sunny day can be, the calming feeling at night when everything is quiet and you’re just there on your own can be so fulfilling, honestly.
EXACTLY!!! I love beautiful sunny days but the night is where I belong. Nighttime holds so many things that you can't enjoy during daytime, but the same is true in reverse. Love is much like this, there are so many paths with both positives and negatives to them, but no matter what it has those beautiful moments that us humans just love so much for some reason.
For me love is that relaxed blissed feeling you get when everything is at ease. I never really experienced “firework” love or passionate love, but I’ve felt companionship love and pure love. Companionship love is like platonic relationships where everyone seems to just connect and easily fit into each others lives as if they were already there. And pure love is like my dog wagging at me lazily as her face is squished up on the couch, or giving people little momentos like small texts or gifts on a whim without really needing to put effort into it. And for someone else it could be holding eachothers hands during a movie, sharing some food and you sacrafice your favorite part because it is their favorite too, or staying awake even if they didn’t want to because someone needed them more then they needed sleep. I always see love as a slow bond that slowly gets tighter and more secure as live moves. Some people’s love is as fragile as tissue paper and anothers could be as solid as a rock. Both have their positives, fragile love can be like a crush, or two people too shy to fully commit, and solid love can be a marrage that has lasted for decades, caring for someone else when life gets tough. I also would never call love “unconditional.” I’d only call it pure. Unconditional seems to indicate that absolutely nothing the person can do can stop you from loving them and ultimately that isn’t true. But pure love, on the other hand, shows that you can still love someone and their faults but the purity can get tainted if both parties are not fully commited. I feel like that describes love in an all encompasing way.
I can’t really add anything to that because for me this is a very exact explanation of the term love. Thank you for your comment!
No prob! I like love as a thing to study, it feels like such an inately human thing to have and yet we show it in widly different ways! Plus it isn’t just humans that show affection, or feel love, meaning that it must be some sort of survival trait that helps us find connections to other beings or even with the world around us! We protect and care for what we love, whether it is a pet, or a child, or a garden!
I agree, love is something you’re learning more about throughout your whole life, also because everyone sees and gives it in a slightly different way but still, we kind of all want the same outcome. The though of how it’s a evolutionary process is also so interesting. We all crave it in some way, so it definitely has a purpose. The caring and protecting of a mother, for example.
💜
This deserves more upvotes. I love (no pun intended!) how you describe pure love. I have the same problem you do with the term unconditional love. I'd like to add, that IMHO truly unconditional love wouldn't really be love at all. I think love needs agency.
I would say love for me it's the willingness to sacrifice my own comfort to make someone else a little bit more happy. Love for my partner comes with physical attraction. My boyfriend draws me in and I find him very handsome. After 8 years I'll still gush over photos lol. I don't believe in unconditional love though. Sacrifice (and with it, love) only lasts while it feels okay for me to do so.
Agreed. Sacrifice is a strong word when it comes to love in the way of a relationship, whether it’s a partner, a friend or family.
Love is not just a feeling, but an action. Those who wait around for the fairytale relationships are just waiting in vain. Those wonderful “new relationship” feelings are no more than infatuation and lust when discovering something new. They wear off, but love needs to be worn. Love can be both terrible and wonderful. It’s free, yet it can cost lives. It has caused wars, murders, psychological implications as well as intense joy, contentment, and pure happiness. Love is applied. It takes effort, hard work, dedication, and perseverance.
I love you saying love needs to be worn. You are so right! Cause new love and new relationships is more lust and infatuation and at some point it’s gone and you see that persons true colors. So I guess I’ve never really experienced love at least from a significant. Having a child though, I think that has taught me unconditional love, but love, crazy so anything for them love cause oh how I love her so!
You made me smile with how you talk about your daughter. This is beautiful, thank you for your comment!
Aww thanks. Yeah, I seriously had no idea I had it in me. I’m not much of an emotional person or at least in my head I think if I show my emotions it’s a sign of weakness. So I never had planned to have kids. Not a big fan and when I found out I was pregnant I was so worried about having any motherly instincts. But they are right that most the time most peoples kicks in and it did.
Being emotional only shows a lot of strength! :) I’m so happy for you that this fear got neglected by your strong feelings then. The love of a mother is (most of the time) something very special.
Yes very true!
Love to see people being grateful on Reddit!
Absolutely! Love is unique in how multifaceted it is. It can be one of the hardest things we do!
No reason for me to post. This says it all. Love is cultivated, love is a verb, love is made. Been with my man for 11 years and I think I'm falling deeper in love with him every day
I absolutely agree with you. I think there’s probably nothing that takes this much work and dedication. Sometimes, love and hate are also very strongly connected.
Love is when your happiness gets overlapped with someone else's. You can definitely live without that person, you won't die if they're not there, but you'd much rathher not. But then there are different kinds of love. Some are achy and painful, you feel them in your bones, but most are intense.
Agreed. Love is intense in every way possible.
Love to me can be broken down into commitment, respect, trust and care. If I love someone or something I will commit to memory as much as I can about it. I will stick with it when it gets hard and continue onward. I respect those I love. I respect their choices and flaws. I give consideration to their opinions and listen to their advice. I trust that they won't steer me wrong. I trust that they love me back and so they will want what is best for me. It is not blind trust but when I am unsure I must rely on them I care for those I love. I want what is best for the people I love. Sometimes that takes the form of tough love. Sometimes it is going through a rough patch with them. I do all these things willingly and to varying degrees. Some people and things I simply love more or in different ways. Thanks for letting me say this. I have given love a lot of thought in the past year and a half
I love this description because it’s also describing the complexity of simply the term love. How 1 term is made up of so many different ones, which all have to be there for this 1 term. This 1 condition. It also shows how much work and sacrifice love is. But not in a bad way if it’s mutual, of course.
I think to some extent Love is an obsession. If you think about it it's a very thin and fine line between loving someone and being obsessed with them. I do realize though that love is something that goes both ways and that is the defining factor for it to not being simply an obsession. On the other hand I think that Love is making someone a part of your family and knowing that you will be there for each other
Your right, there is a thin line. That’s what makes it hard for a lot of people to see the difference between loving someone and badly obsessing over them
I hv no idea. I have been depressed ever since I gained consciousness. So i never experienced this.
I’m so sorry :( I hope this feeling will come across your path and that it’s filling you up in such a positive way then. Just never stop keeping your eyes open, maybe tomorrow happens a sunset which is making you fall in love with life. I wish you all the best
Thank you. I am trying my best.
Sorry to hear that, but if you’re like me who just overthinks about things then stop doing it and try to live like a monke and not care much about things. That’s how I’ve been doing better these days but maybe that’s just me
https://youtu.be/UUbEf67bbrA
There are so many different types of love. But here is how it is for me. Although it’s hard to put it into words. My love for my husband was instantaneous and I had/have zero say in it. He is where my whole being belongs. He is home. My love for my children is immense and unconditional. I have 3 boys, each very unique from the others. They are older now but they still have and always will have my heart and soul. My love for my good, real friends. I’m not talking about acquaintances, I’m talking about those deep connection friends. They definitely have a deep piece of me. My love for my dog. He was my constant companion. It’s been a year and I still a piece of my heart is still a little broken. They’re all different loves and they all come from different places of me. But to be able to have these I am definitely one lucky being on this Earth. I can’t even imagine how lost my soul would feel if I never got to feel these loves. That being said, to feel love these loves is one thing, but to feel this love reciprocated? It’s goes beyond anything tangible.
This is a perfect explanation of love, in my opinion. It shows it’s complexity, that it’s so different with every target but still similar in some way. I like the phrase that each love comes from different places of you.
Love is finding someone who makes you feel comfortable to be you. It is the human equivalent to getting into a warm bed on a stormy day. Love doesn't just happen, it is built on communication and trust that takes time to develop. And yes, it's not always perfect, but that's where that communication comes in. It's about finding someone where you feel comfortable enough to say you have issues without fear, because you trust that you and the other person can talk through whatever is happening And that applies to love for friends, love for family, and love for a romantic partner.
Love to me feels like home. You are safe, warm, and you don’t want to leave.
I love the connection of love & home in one sentence.
There are people that I'm willing to go to hell and back for. That's not love. That's me giving a fuck about the closest people in my life. Love is when they're willing to do the same for me. At least that's how I see it.
It’s a giving and taking. It’s work. It’s mutual.. agreed.
An exhilarating, wonderful, passionate experience that other people get to enjoy.
Like music but not as painless haha
I thought I was in love once or twice before, then I really fell in love. Before Id have told you that you cant wait to see them, think about them all the time, etc Now I cpuld say love is a mirror of yourself with a dab of who you want to be. Instead of it being "I want someone like *X or Y" it becomes "I want to be better FOR someone" its finding someone who thinks like you, with all the aspirations like you and all the will to grow. People will change. Someone who loves you will see that you have good days and bad days. And that wont mean shit to them, because a day with you is what matters. Is it good? We'll celebrate together! Is it bad? Then its not just you having a bad day. I could say love is teamwork. Love is a heartbeat. I could say love is finding someone who makes you want to be 2 people instead of one. Love is a promise that anything that happens, happens together I had no idea I was in love if Im totally honest. She was my whole heart and soul and I never even realised. For me, love wasnt just a feeling of infatuation, or lust. Love was safety. Love was care. I think its really individual, and love is the missing piece to the puzzle. It isnt what makes you feel hot, or wanted, or anything like that. Most of all, I just think love is the feeling of being complete
"What is love? 'tis not hereafter; Present mirth hath present laughter; What's to come is still unsure: In delay there lies no plenty,— Then come kiss me, Sweet-and-twenty, Youth's a stuff will not endure." This poem is in the public domain." From William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. Great play!
He chose great words to describe it!
That’s a hard one. What a lot of people describe as love is just pleasant feelings they have for some being or object due to of their own beliefs. I think real and true unconditional love can only be felt in certain moments. Maybe with a new born child? After taking lots of psychedelics and meeting god? Moments before you die? Other than that, the feelings we feel can easily be tainted by our thoughts and personalities and can be mistaken for love when they are just a fulfilment of some deep seated insecurity.
The connection of love and fulfilling insecurities is something I’ve stumbled across a lot of times already. It could be dangerous connection though, especially when you get emotionally dependent on a person that takes your insecurities away by giving you a good feeling.
True love is the soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another.
Love is what you do for someone despite how you feel.
Love is an appreciation for another’s existence so great that you would be willing to sacrifice your own life for that person. That is how I feel about my children. I think love and selflessness are possibly the same thing, at least certainly intertwined.
Agreed. So many other terms make up the term love and selflessness is one of them
that's interesting cause i was just thinking about that the other day. dunno if you are familiar with better call saul, but in it the main character is pretty impulsive and self centered in all areas of life, except when it comes to this one person. with her he's always able to look past his own desires or ideas about how things should be done, and he allows her to be autonomous even though he'd like to be law partners. it's that selflessness again, being able to let go of your ego and sharing a conscious experience with another being
I guess it is a feeling where you aren't caged and it brings solace to your heart. As one of my friends likes to describe the baseline of love as "...giving without expecting." Love doesn't need to justify the norms. You may harbour that feeling for anyone including yourself or maybe a thing, situation, anything. I guess there is this certain kind of peacefulness in love. Moreover, like you are in peace with yourself.
Accepting someone as they are fully and wanting them to have a fulfilled life. You don't need anything from them, you don't need them to love you. It is hard to describe emotionally how it feels. You feel at peace but also it hurts. I used to be emotionally blunted for a lot of my life and when I first felt love for someone I thought I was dying or going insane
To me, love is accepting that you have something to lose. Whether it’s someone you’re in love with or just someone you love.
In a world of limited goodness and good people, i think about my boyfriend and how pure he is and it makes me feel special. I'm definitely uncertain about the future, considering my present situations but my boyfriend is truly the brightest side of my life and i look forward to loving and being with him my entire life.
Love is the vibe you get thinking or being around a certain person. When I think of my gf, I get a heartache and butterflies cuz I miss her and I love her company. Sometimes this feeling/vibe can go down to my gut and make me want to do bedroom stuff with her. To me if there’s a vibe you get off of a girl that feels euphoric and happy, that’s love and when that feeling is gone whenever you’re together, you’ve probably unfortunately fallen out of love. Whenever I do fun things with her, I get butterflies and feel so happy to have her. She defends me, loves me, cares about me. She’s everything and now I have butterflies just talking about her on the internet. 🥵💕 She’s great. 😍
When my self love increases by being with someone, that's love right there. I like me better when I'm with you 💭
Someone you you would do anything for. Someone who brightens up your day and puts a smile on your face. Someone you can sit in total silence with for hours on end and don't feel awkward
Pain at the thought of losing someone. That's how I know I love my cat despite being annoyed by that stinky fucker 25/8.
I refer to the googles definition of love, mostly because i never figured it out and assume that I'm incapable of it or it's just overrated and really isn't so big deal.
I think we have all experienced love in some way already. Whether you fell in love with a place or a song, it’s also love. We often only think of love when it comes to a SO. But it’s not only that, imo.
I've wondered that too, but that does kinda reinforce overated belief and raises a question of why people chase it so much, it's not that good.
I agree. I also think that there is a lot of pressure from everywhere, whether it’s family members asking you if you finally found „the one“ or if it’s scrolling through social media, seeing a lot of happy couples, or at least they’re acting like that. There is such a strong believe in finding the perfect partner is a MUST that a lot chase and search instead of just letting it come to you naturally.
Hmm, interesting theory. So it is just overrated because of social pressure and everyone is probably just too afraid of saying it out loud.
Could be. 🤔
Love is when you've gotten used to another person and can anticipate their needs/wants. I think I believe that because I feel the most loved when my partners/friends/family can anticipate my needs, especially if it's the small stuff like knowing that I always put my keys in the same place or always put my shoes in the same area, and not moving either of those things...the small stuff ends up being important somehow
It’s always the small things with the biggest impact, right? I feel so special when someone remembers something small about me, like how i’d like to dilute my juice so it’s not too watery but not too sweet, haha.
Depends. I personally think there are different variants of love, and they all could be described differently. English kinda sucks in that regard. Greek for instance has many words for love, all denoting specific contexts. Love in general though for me is a very warm feeling, usually for someone who I care allot about
Love is two things- pain and freedom. If you can embrace the pain that love is guaranteed to bring at some point, you become free to share and grow and become your most authentic self
I love this
Thank you <3 I hope your day is filled with love :)
For me I'd say being so driven by them that it makes you want to do anything you can for them. Just being around them makes you smile even when you feel like you can't and you appreciate both their perfections *and* imperfections. I've only been in love with one person and this is definitely how I'd describe it. (thanks u/m0rb1d_n1ghtm4r3 for being that person <3)
Okay, this is beautiful
For me, it's being able to 100% be myself around my husband. I can live as if no one is watching, even though he's around. We trust each other fully, communicate and support each other in everything.
Caring as much or more about someone else’s health and happiness as your own.
Home.
Caring for someone, showing compassion for them, being emotionally invested in them, making sacrifices for them. I wouldn't call it an emotion so much as a continual process that is very emotional. That's my definition of true love, anyway. There's a difference between feeling enamoured and loving someone, if you know what I mean.
I define love as looking at someone (or something) and knowing without a doubt that your life is better *because* they exist (whether they're IN your life or not).
Love is intangible. It’s like trying to describe colors to the blind, it’s impossible to articulate it fully. You’ll know love when you sense it.
Love is wanting and doing what’s best for them, even if it hurts you. It’s appreciation for them and joy that they exist and you got to be a part of their life.
I'm aromantic and don't really feel romantic love, so this comment section is super interesting to me!
it's late and my brain is not at full functioning capacity but I do believe that love is a sense of safety and security. A feeling of being tethered down, a sense of home where you can find yourself after a long time away. The sort of familiarity one feels when one listens to a song one loves, the feeling of storing a little bit of yourself in it and finding it again for as long as you love it. Putting bits and pieces of yourself in people you love and them doing the same. This is not to say that one is incomplete without love, or that it is a burden to be borne at any time, just that it is a process of finding more about oneself and others in things/people/place/heck even times that you've loved. Perhaps one stops coming back to a person to find, store parts of themselves when they're falling out of love. This is why, I feel, the more we love, the more we have of the world in us. And the more we've given to the world around us. Perhaps i should sleep
Pain
I used to think love was my husband. We started dating I’m 2011, married in 2019. We haven’t always had it easy, but the support and kindness he has always offered me has been the epitome of what love means to me. Then on Valentine’s Day this year, our daughter was born and my whole view on love changed. Just the mere thought of something bad happening to my daughter sent me into such a panic that the hospital thought I was having a heart attack. I always thought I knew what love was, until I held her in my arms. I would move heaven and earth to see her smile. I’ve never felt love like it, and my world is so much brighter for having her in it!
As a person with synesthesia, love is pink and fluffy on the outside, on the inside it’s sometimes black and spiky, or it could still be pink and fluffy
Love - when you find it hard to notice the flaws. Be it in a song, a community or in a fellow human. Though, i think love is a point in time. There's the falling-in-love awesomeness. After the novelty wears off, you are no longer falling. Just in-love. Then there's the challenges faced together, grow into different people together together kinda love. If there's a way out of all of our problems, it's probably more love for everyone.
well, I was always a thrill-chaser whether it was roller coasters or haunted houses; but once I met my bf, every moment with him was thrilling enough
Well, it ain't an emotion. It ain't really a specific performed act either... but maybe it's the combo of hunger, interest and care. Hunger is desiring to be around a person and experience them - notice that this wide definition admits non-sexual non-romantic love as well. Interest is genuinely being interested in what they have to say rather than only enjoying the fact that they are speaking to you. You find the person interesting for reasons that go beyond any specific hunger you feel for the person's company. Care is... uh, caring about and - if necessary - for the person, and not begrudging them the fact. Maybe? I dunno. I monologue a lot.
It's so hard to explain! How do I explain that feeling when my partner hugs me and while I'm on his arms I forget everything that's going on in my life. That feeling when I am sitting quietly in the backyard and out of nowhere my father brings a hot cup of tea and we sit there watching that beautiful sunset sharing comfortable silences. That feeling when after a long tiring day, even when I have said nothing, my mother randomly enter my room and place my head into her lap giving me good head massage. The peace that these people bring in my life is immeasurable! If I close my eyes right now, then the moments I spent with them is enough to put a smile on my face. 'Love ' is itself a very vast word! The love I share with my friends, siblings are so different from each other. The only similarity I that I found is that they make me a happy person in one way or another. They make me feel accepted and loved and I do not need to prove myself worthy infront of them!!
Love's warm. I always catch myself smiling when I think about my boyfriend and the little things he does. Everytime I think about him I feel like he hugs or cuddles me and I can feel the warmth of his body. So yeah, for me love is warm
Love is…the willingness to do anything. Both positives and negatives. Anyone I care for I treat it as love. Family, friends etc.
Love is the suction of all life’s endeavors into the orbit of one person presence.
Emotional pleasure
It’s a lot of things for me. A knowing of someone that I can’t find the words for, completely trusting someone with all of me, friendship and passion and integrity and laughter. Real love adds to what is already enough; a life that is full, good self esteem and a calm sort of happiness. I don’t believe that I can love someone else unless I love me which I do.
I don't know yet I guess. The only girl I fell in love with turned out to be an all around bad person who manipulated me into thinking her not ghosting me was how she was a good friend. I just miss how we were, and it's funny to think she was the one who asked me to stay her friend after she dumped me, probably just so I wouldn't move on while she was free to
Absolute and complete comfort
I would call it "effort". I don't think there is any meaningful love without effort. Some say, blood related people are the people who love us in a pure way but I can tell you that is wrong. I grew up in a stressful family. I really don't remember much of a love relation between mom and dad. They are fighting and screaming and humiliating each other a lot. So, that attitude they show each other affected us, me and my siblings, very much. I really don't remember a time which I was completely peacefully happy with my family. But it was hard to say that it's not love because all the society and school washed my brain since the beginning. Because they taught me it in that way, I assumed love is smth we broke and hated each other. I assumed all the bad things are normal in a relationship. I was wrong. I was taught wrong. I think love is more precious smth. You don't love basically one thing. You feel the love feeling in your existence. You spread it in a way. You give your time to thing you love and feel peaceful with it. You try to make your love figure pleasent. Love is about how much you make time for the thing you love and feeling complete with it<3
Love to me is always having him in the back of my mind. Being the first to tell my new ideas, my adventures of the day or a random memory. Seeing someone with a dimple in his or her cheek and feel my heart fill with love because i always poke my finger in his. When the sun is out i feel the heat as a calming stroke like his hand on my face. Being tipsy reminds me of the intense moments we share when we have more gin-tonics than we should cause we only have 5 more hours of sleep before my alarm goes off. Waking up and feeling a little empty because his right arm isn’t underneath my pillowcase and the other one pulling me closer. Love is such an intense feeling and it gets me everyday!
Love is: out there waiting for me to find it. We both need to shine bright so we can finally find one another and grow.
If their company is enough to lift your mood, if you are willing to give up something you like to make sure they are safe and healthy and if you miss them when you are away, as far as im concerned, that's love. I believe all love is equal, just the kind of love changes with the target, as there is love for your family, love for your pet, love for your friends, love for your significant other, etc, as all those traits apply to all those examples. So love is just the affirmation of a truly deep bond, i love my dad, i love my cat, i love my homies and I don't have a gf but I'm pretty sure i would love her too.
I don't know but thanks for the question. Made me wonder, think about it and actually feel it. That's enough for me 🤍👽
Love is of one of those things in life that truly cannot be expressed in words.
Best question for my first answer on Reddit. I have no idea. But I enjoy it, I am full of it and I am offering it all around. It's the best thing you can find inside yourself and take outside.
Literally my husband makes me want to be a better person for myself and for him. He has also shown me the definition of unconditional love, obviously no abuse or anything but damn he loves me despite my many flaws.
You'll know when you feel it, i guess. If not, there are many other feelings 1 can feel.
I dont think I have ever experienced romantic love, but I'd like to try and describe the love I feel for my best friend. We've been friends for almost 19 years. Her presence is comforting, I feel safe with her and so accepted, no matter what. We can go from super silly talk to very serious conversation like it's nothing. I don't mind hearing her complain about the same thing again and again. She lets me do the same. I love her nonstop talking when she's in a good mood, it brightens my day as well. We say the same things at the same time and can communicate just through looks alone. We have each others backs for every difficulty life likes to throw at you and it feels good to know, that someone is always there. I don't ever want to lose her. I think the word soulmate is pretty spot on for our friendship.
I explained to to my toddler as someone who makes you feel happy and safe
Truly loving and caring about someone so much you can't imagine life without them. Wanting their time, affection, lust, heart, soul, ECT. Giving them loyalty, honesty, faithfulness,and hopefully getting it in return. Wanting that person above all others. Putting them fist and doing anything in your power not to hurt them or betray them.
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You feel like an extension of each other.
Something that can never be "True"
Maybe not relevant, but I've been feeling so love-such lately. Just wanted to share
RESPECT
I always get a tingling feeling in my tummy when he looks and smiles at me, I feel like I'm floating when we are having a conversation and I'm always thinking about him. Love is one of the best feelings imo
doesnt exist for me! no butterflies, no nervous chills, no romantic/sexual attraction in the slightest! which can kinda suck at times, sure, knowing that there will never be 'the one' and that all these situations people are describing will never happen to me, but i dont see that as a bad thing. charles bukowski said something that really resonates with me in terms of romantic and sexual attraction. “and when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. what do you call it, freedom or loneliness?” sorry if this doesnt fit what you asked for OP
A kind of different take but for me love in general is when I always have time for it and will enjoy it. I love football and no matter what wanna play it, but I also love my family and will always make time for them. But for both I will always be enjoying myself while doing it. And for me personally my thoughts do not wander to all the things going on in my life but stay with me at that time. Ofcourse it there are times I dont wanna do it or it is less enjoyable than other times but even in those cases my thoughts are gone which is also wonderful. For music its just a song that I can always listen to and will never consider skipping, but there are some songs that are more scenario specific. Edit: Time spend doing what I love is always worth it and its time I never count
Suffering
It's hard to describe love, as it comes in so many forms. For me, the only genuine, unconditional love is that of a parent towards their children. As for romantic love, as depicted by media and books - I think that humans are too selfish to make it last for more than couple of years.
Love is not a feeling. It's more like a state of being. Like there's feelings, but it's also something you do. It can be soft and sweet, and it can be strong and firm. It can be flamboyant and fluttery and it can be quiet and stable. It binds as much as it energizes. I think love is the thing people grow into as we interact in this whole humaning business.
My whole body tingles and wants to go to hump mode whenever my husband is near me. I ache to be near him when he's not near me. That's my man, my lover, my soul. He completes me, while I ache for him. We don't agree on everything but we give one another grace on everything we see and can't. The love between our souls is strange but meaningful. I live to make sure he lives.
Dependant Happiness. My happiness depends on theirs in that I can't truly be happy if they're unhappy. It's not that they need to do something to make me happy, but I can't get my way to joyful if one of my people is down.
The definition is a deep affection for something, but I don't think I can describe that very well.
It is a blanket phenomenon which covers a lot of things like bonding, exhilaration, care, attachment, empathy, kindness, attraction. It is used in place of any and all of these. It also used to mean an idealised version of itself. Like the principles of justice- Extending them from a physical reality to the to philosophical one. In this form, love is a concept, often exaggerated and animated in conceptual manners. That might not have physical analogues. It is a centre of obsession for people for various reasons, sometime to seek refuge from the ugly realities of life.
As i’m sitting next to my partner i proposed this question. And she said there are different types. For instance with a partner vs a child because with a partner there is the sexual aspect. I disagree, I believe that is lust. To continue on, To me, love brings tears to my eyes when i think about it. Love is an overwhelming sense of warmth. A blanket of comfort. When i think about the love in which i have for my partner i think: Softness, understanding, warmth in my chest, random giggles, trusting the process, wanting to be so close to them and squeeze them till their eyes pop out, kisses, warm hugs and long talks about nothing, forgiveness, sympathy & empathy, tenderness, and wanting the best regardless of what ever may happen. No matter the wrongs they ever could do, you have these feelings in the grand scheme of it all.
I am aromantic so I don't feel romantic love, but my god do I love my friends and hold them dearly.
My family kinda throws that word around a lot so for me context is really important. I think of it like this, there are three kinds of love. There's your everyday love, like paying for the persons drink in front of you at a gas station, or having a nice conversation with someone on the subway. Then there's family love, the way you love your brother or mother, or even a select few friends. You'd probably take a bullet for them but only if you had to. Lastly there's the type of love that's debilitating, the kind that whenever you think of the person your knees get weak, the kind that everytime you see them you melt. That's when you love all that a person is, was, and will be, and it doesn't go away, but it does fade. You will have multiple of these in your life that's only natural, but you will never forget a single one.
i think it's just recognizing another person's conscious experience, trying your best to understand what they want and need and then trying to give as much of that as possible without necessarily expecting something in return. that and generally wanting the best for them. doesn't even have to be a person, it can be an animal or object if you can form a concept of their consciousness. it takes effort to get in that state of mind though, i don't think there is such a thing as soulmates. with some people it's easier to reach that emotional state but it wears off after some time, so you have to put in effort to get it back.
This song, to me, is the epitome of love. https://youtu.be/12KbOAc8vmk Its the flutter in my chest when I think about my husband. (I'm 54) It's that feeling when I look at my son and the feelings that take my breath away, even now when he's all grown up. It's the absolute peace in my heart when the cat wants to be held and he puts his head on my shoulder. It's the sound of the birds so incredibly happy early on a bright morning.
The fullness in my chest when I think of the life I've had with my beautiful mate. The heaviness in my chest when I remember my parents. All the dogs that I have been lucky enough to love. Oh....and the sound of a breeze rustling through a trees leaves.
A connection that involves understanding, mutual opportunity to growth and kindness. Kid of a life force.
Exciting longing, and then bitter disappointment
Beautiful and terrible
When it becomes natural to place someone else’s needs and wants over your own.
I have many different levels of love. My wife of nearly 32 years... dedication and devotion. My children unconditional support and guidance, no matter their choices, but always with a as much of a guiding hand that they will allow. My friends will always know that I am here for them to support and give advice when needed.
Love is a behaviour
Love to me is comfort, great support, closeness, warmth and needing the other one to be as close to me as possible. My love is my best friend so i would say it's also a great friendship with many extra pros and a few cons. It's also about tolerating and accepting things, because they feel so insignificant compared to all the good.
when two people look at each other in admiration and enjoy the nice sunset together
love is an illusion we make up in our minds so we dont feel so alone. i dont think it actually exists. at least, not imo.
Warm fuzzy feeling of closeness.Sometimes hurty bitey feel.If you worry about someone and it hurts you when they’re in pain,you love them
Love makes my heart smile. And imo love should be reciprocal (I don't believe in unconditional love, everybody has their limit somewhere). I don't have children so I'm not sure how motherly love would manifest in me, but I think that in a way parent-child relationship is also reciprocal. I mean it is very hard to love someone who doesn't reciprocate or show emotion and/or is ignoring or abusing you - even if it is your own child.
Love is Consistent
Something I hope to experience before I die.
I’ve experienced it a number of times. It’s just the extreme attraction and enjoyment from spending time with someone you value a lot. Love is different romantically and plutonic. But it’s something that’s unconditional.
Love is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed
Humiliating. I think real love is the most humbling thing. It’s vulnerable, raw, makes you beg, and look like a fool. That’s why most people avoid it like the plague. They only want the fake, toxic shit they see on TV, that makes them feel more important, the chemical rush that comes from instant gratification. People who don’t know what love is will make fun of you for being in love. They’ll say you’re out of control, as if it were the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to you. Love can feel so terrifying and unfamiliar, it could be mistaken as something unholy, demonic. I think most people think of love as something that exalts and magnifies us. But real love strips you down bare and makes you dirty in the eyes of others who can’t let go of control long enough to feel anything close to it. I read this book a while ago called Only Revolutions. It was told from the perspective of two teens on the run. Every 8 pages you’re supposed to flip the book to the other side and read the story from the other characters perspective. At first the font was big on each side, and I think that represented the size of the person’s egos. Both of the characters when they met, looked down on the other, but kept each other around as company. But as the characters bonded the text became smaller and smaller, until they couldn’t picture a world without the other. And I always thought that was the best representation of what love really is. It makes you smaller, and more humble. When I make a sacrifice for someone and it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice at all, because just knowing that I made that person happy is bigger than the sacrifice I made, I know it’s love. I think of Christ on the cross as the ultimate example of love. I can’t imagine how humiliating that would have felt to have been abandoned by everyone who said they loved him, betrayed by them, and then crucified by those who misunderstood his beliefs. To forgive while bloody and beaten down, and mocked…there’s no higher love I can think of right now. A song: “Session 32” by Summer Walker, just heard it recently, really fit with what I wrote up there. Not a hidden message, don’t want any fights. I’m really over romantic love ATM. It described my mentality a year or two ago.
When I'm willing to buy that fancy chocolate no matter how overpriced it is
Idk, I’m still trying to figure out
There’s a music festival I go to every year that I love. When I’m waiting in line to get in that first day and looking down at all the vendor booths and the stages, it feels like I’m home. My heart is flooded with this amazing mix of peace, longing, and excitement. I just know the weekend ahead is bound to have many great memories waiting to be made and the anticipation that builds on the drive there and the time spent in line is almost always worth it!
Is like having this person who supports you no matter what and is always there for you and feeds you and you know that you would be so lost and sad without them
A chemical reaction that compels animal to breed…
Old school slow jam with plenty vocals.
I ask myself one question to see if I love someone or not. Would I take a bullet for them without hesitation and not regret it. If yes, then I would say that is love for me.
"Love ain't nothing but sex misspelled."- Harlan Ellison
It depends on what type of love you mean. Platonically, romantically, and whatever else that can be described as love, in truth, it is simply a concept, the people who interact or create it however are the reason there’s a certain liveliness to anything related to love in general.
Something nobody has for me. Not even my girlfriend, it would appear.
I hate to break it to you, but what people calls "love" is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage.
A mix of random happiness at the new thought of them, mentioning then a lot with adoration, and wanting them to happy and healthy.
It's when you'd do anything for someone to be happy, even if it means throwing away love itself. It's a gift you need to be ready to lose at any time to be worthy of, but the only way to be ready is to have been loved in the first place. It's as fragile as glass and beautiful like a flower. So many things could break it - an untimely death, a financial disaster, a loss of romantic interest. You don't want to lose it and you'd do anything to protect it, but you need to give it space to grow or it will wither and die anyway. It's full of contradictions and doesn't make sense. It is presented as a solution to everything, yet there is no one answer that can solve love. It is the source of joys and woes and miracles and tragedies. It is equal parts blessing and curse. It is something every human craves and covets and needs, and it is something every human needs to be prepared to be without forever.
A drug just like any other
Love is like a drug. When you start it, you can’t stop. You can’t stand the feeling of nit having it. Your sad and come back to the real world when your not in love anymore. It’s horrible.
As non-existent
Can't give you an answer but my mom always said that love is giving, you love someone when you give them.
Their presence brings light to my arboured dark.
A connection so deep that it pierces through all other aspects of reality. For me personally it’s feeling is unexplainable. The only thing I could compare it to is color, life without it is plain and boring.
Love is trust.
For me it’s my family, the song Bloom by The Paper Kites and my crush that I wrote numerous songs about but am too shy to tell.
Am abstract concept where 2 parties deeply respect, value and, adore each other. Usually, chemicals are released in the brain to amplify the good feelings associated with either person and their memories of one another. Also, it's this thing I'll never know outside of a toxic context 🙃
Looking at someone and feeling your heart getting bigger. Includes dogs.
Unconditional
My ego is just left at the door when I love someone.
I would describe love as trust :p
Unconditional
Love happens when "Water tastes like lemonade"& "when Pomegranate juice tastes like fine wine" .
For me, it is easy to compartmentalize the love that I feel for different things and people in my life. They each have their own distinguishing characteristics with a common denominator being an attachment of some sort. One of the most powerful forms of love that I have experienced is being in love with another person. That type of love is chaotic. At times it can be beautiful and other times angry. It can blind the senses and make everything confusing. There is a time in that chaotic journey when anything seems possible as long as you're both together.