
Attempting to define love seems impossible... but...
The Oxford Dictionary defines love as "an intense feeling of deep affection." Mankind has been trying to define and understand love for all our existence - thru words and art and every way we can.
We found this definition by Brene Brown to be one of the best. She is not saying this is the end all be all definition, but a great starting place in trying to define healthy love, to provoke thought and discussion:
"We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness, and affection. Love is not something we give or get; it's something that we nurture and grow - a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them. We can only love others as much as we love ourselves. Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed, and rare." --Brené Brown
They are short -- but still so much truth there!
Below we present a huge collection of the very best - and mostly sweet and romantic -- love quotes we could find for you to reflect upon and share. Enjoy! And please share widely the ones you like best. However you define it, love should be rejoiced, and shared, always. (-: And if these are helpful to you, please show us some love back by linking to this page. Thank YOU!
Of what value is your life, unless you are willing to sacrifice it for those you love?
Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.
Love is just a word untill you and that someone who comes along give it meaning.
Real love is messy, and broken, and hard. Not all fairy tales and Prince Charming.
Love melts the rigor which the rocks have bred; a flint will break upon a feather bed.
People who love each other can no more keep from communicating than from breathing.
Your capacity to love is your capacity to experience the I of another.
Unrequited love is like hitting your head against a wall that isn't there.
Love is not lust. The two are poles apart. Love liberates while lust binds.
Calmly in the precious present, be a light for love and wisdom in the window on your world.
A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world.
Longer Version:
A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.
It's hard loving those who don't much like themselves.
Longer Version:
It's hard loving those who don't much like themselves: "If you're so great, why would you think I'm so great.
Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others and the delight in the recognition.
Dogs are the closest we come to knowing the divine love of God on this side of eternity.
Difficult times always create opportunities for you to experience more love in your life.
Love's greatest gift is its ability to make everything it touches sacred.
To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you are the world.
Love and understanding are one into the same. without love, there is no understanding, and without understanding, there can be no love.
Love hard. Love not like the world loves. Love hard, go hard, let it kill you.
Love makes a few weeks so rich that all the rest of our lives seems poor in comparison.
There is no pain equal to that which two lovers can inflict on one another.
Longer Version:
There is no pain equal to that which two lovers can inflict on one another. This should be made clear to all who contemplate such a union. The avoidance of this pain is the beginning of wisdom, for it is strong enough to contaminate the rest of our lives.
People always love and respect characters who speak the truth, even if the truth hurts.
Love is when each person is more concerned for the other than for one's self.
All life is emptiness. Fill it with endless love, bliss, and kindness.
If you are expecting something in return for your love, you are not loving truly.
The mind is the treasury for knowledge, but the heart is the treasury for love and kindness.
Not your appearance, but your humility and power of love define your beauty.
Love, just to love. Don't wait for a reason to love. That is selfishness.
Love is not an obsession or a delusion. Love exists in longing and appreciation.
Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is.
Love involves a peculiar unfathomable combination of understanding and misunderstanding.
