The Different Types of Love
When it comes to love, most people think of romantic relationships. But love is a complex emotion that can mean different things to each person. It encompasses a range of emotions, including deep affection and attachment. It’s also something that changes over time. Love can evolve or diminish over time due to life events and misunderstandings. But with effort and communication, it can also deepen and withstand the test of time.
What is love? Love is often defined as a feeling that stirs up excitement, attraction, and affection. Those feelings are triggered by chemical reactions in the brain. They can also be created by a combination of other factors, such as pheromones, genetic predisposition, and experience. When you feel in love, your brain is activated and you want to be around the person who makes you feel this way.
There are many types of love, and they each have their own meaning and benefits. For example, parental love nurtures and protects children, even when they’re not perfect. Companionate love allows us to see the best in our partners, which can help us grow and thrive together. Biologically, romantic love is a mating instinct that keeps parents and offspring bonded until they reach sexual maturity.
When we fall in love, the feelings of lust and desire can be hard to distinguish from true love. If you’re in lust, your focus is on physical attractiveness and the pleasure of intimate contact. People who endorse this style of love don’t take commitment seriously and are likely to quickly end or start new relationships.
A more mature form of love is storge, which focuses on the shared interests and values of the partner and includes a strong bond of trust and respect. People who prefer this love style believe that actions speak louder than words and value acts of service like bringing soup or medicine when someone is sick.
Another type of love is karuna, which is compassion and mercy for others. You can see this love in the devotion of someone to a person with destructive patterns, for example, or a parent’s love for their child with a chronic illness. It’s an intense, selfless love that can make us feel indebted and grateful to the one we love.
A final type of love is bhakti, which is devotion to the divine. This love can lead to a spiritual awakening and enlightenment. It’s a selfless love that can also be a source of great joy, such as when you see a child perform a musical piece they have practiced for years.