Yesss and yess... I've been loved and is still loved. This is all what it feels like to me.
Love to me, is not just something that comes and goes with the emotions. Love is not just attraction, nor is love just affection or excitement. Love is not something that just happens, love is something you decide. Love is choosing someone every day of your life, even when you don’t feel like it, when you’re stressed, when you’re having a bad day, and when you’re having misunderstandings.
Love is the definition of patience. Love is being able to remain calm when you’re angry and want to lash out. Love is being able to listen not just to respond, but to actually understand the person’s heart. Love is being able to give someone space to grow without constantly criticising their weaknesses. Love knows that nobody is perfect and instead of dwelling on the imperfections of someone you love, love focuses on the improvements.
Love is kindness in action, I always tell people this… Love is an ACTION WORD. Love is speaking kindly to someone even when you’re having a bad day. Love is correcting someone without embarrassing them.
It is the words that build, not the words that destroy. Love does not humiliate nor does it belittle. Love lifts up. Love forgives and heals.
To me, love is sacrifice, but it is not self-neglect and also not selfish. It means giving my time, my energy, my attention, my comfort for the sake of the other. But love, real love, does not ask that you lose yourself completely. Real love recognizes that you can love someone with all your heart and soul and still be yourself, still have worth. Real love makes you stronger, not weaker.
Love is consistency. Love is not just about grand gestures, expensive gifts, grandiose promises. Love is about the small things, the daily things, the acts that show you care: the act of calling to ask how someone is, the act of remembering the details that mean the most to the other, the act of showing up when it counts, the act of being there in silence when words are not enough.
Love is reliable.
It is knowing that someone will be there for you, not just in times of celebration but also in times of trouble.
Respect is more like the foundation of my definition of love. Love respects feelings, opinions, dreams, and differences. It does not seek to control or dominate. It finds room for individuality while promoting unity. It safeguards dignity in public and tackles problems in private. It cherishes trust and guards it with care.
Most of all, love is growth. If there is no increase in being kinder, wiser, more understanding, and more emotionally mature, then it is not the love I believe in.
Real love brings peace and unity. It brings safety, not fear. It brings progress, not stagnation.
To me, love is a constant choice made in patience, with kindness, through respect, and with the test of time. It is never noisy, it is peaceful and safe. It's a deliberate act.
That is my definition of love, a mighty force that builds, sustains, and changes both the giver and the receiver.
Images are mine 💗