Understanding Your Five Love Languages
Love is a universal experience that can unite people of different races, religions, economic backgrounds and ages. We all love different things, and we all love different people, but when love takes a back seat in your life you may find yourself feeling lost and confused, and wondering how you’ll ever be able to love anyone else. Love encompasses a wide range of positive and negative emotional and physical states, from the strongest imaginable ethic or religious habit, the most profound personal best practice, to the easiest (and most fulfilling) recreational activities. But these aren’t the only things that make up love, nor are they the things that bring joy and fulfillment in your life. Each of these aspects of love is as important as the others, and if you learn to focus on each of them with conscious attention, you can develop a powerful connection that brings you much happiness in your life.
The most immediate and powerful effect of love is the emotional boost that it provides to those who love one another. Whether you’re feeling romantic love for your husband or wife or you’re feeling romantic love for a friend, loved one, pet, or even yourself, the experience of being cared for and the sense of security it gives makes every moment with another person worth the while, and brings about a sense of calmness and serenity that’s rarely found outside of intimate relationships. The effect this has on your life can be absolutely astounding, and you need to understand its importance if you want to truly experience the benefits of this wonderful emotion.
The other, more substantial effect of unconditional love is the development of a sense of responsibility and accountability. When you’re in love with someone, you have to give yourself some measure of permission to let them know what you feel when they do something wrong – it’s part of growing up, after all. When you’re in love with someone and you find yourself doing something like complaining when you don’t get your way or nagging and arguing with your partner about little things, you’re demonstrating to your partner that you’re willing to be self-concerned and accountable – qualities that will go a long way towards ensuring that you find true love. And, when you’re in love with someone and you’re making your partner feel this way every single time they do something wrong, you’re showing them that you’re capable of changing and growing, just as you would with anyone else. This is something any relationship needs.
Love language is also related to physical touch love language. This type of love language involves an exchange of physical closeness. If you and your partner are friends, you may find yourselves exchanging phone numbers or sitting next to each other in the waiting room at the doctor’s office or in the supermarket – sharing a few smiles and physical contact as you both wait your turn to see the doctor or nurse in the morning, and being friends when you go out for dinner or on a date. This is the love language of friendship.
However, you may also find yourself in long-term relationships, ones in which you are truly in love with your partner and feel completely and totally loved by them. This type of love language is one that happens naturally with someone you are deeply in love with. You can even have this love language with your family member or friends, but relationships with these people often endure because they remain the people who are closest to you and care about you the most. Sometimes it takes a while to adjust to having this love language with someone new, and you may feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable for a few weeks or months. But, this love language is essential to finding true love.
The fifth love language is gift giving – when you give your partner love and attention in the form of gifts, you are letting them know that their happiness matters and that you are interested in their feelings. When you make a gift of time together or a gift of a special treat, you are letting your partner know that you love them and that you are interested in them being happy. The gift doesn’t have to be expensive. You can buy simple items that make your partner smile every time they see them, and this can be very meaningful to them. Gifts don’t have to be expensive to be meaningful, and showing your partner that you care about them by giving them a gift on a regular basis is very loving and nurturing.