Chances are you’ve been asked to define what “kindness” means to you. Perhaps you were asked what your ‘type’ was, and your answer was that you wanted someone who was kind… and the person who asked you were dissatisfied with your answer, saying that you were being “too general”.

In life, we come across many of these generalised words. Among them is the word “love”. We often say—or even sing—that “all we need is love”, but the truth is, love isn’t as simple as it sounds. There are many traits that love encompasses, aside from being just about feelings and chemistry.

It is not enough to rely on feelings of love or on chemistry, since our hearts can be deceitful sometimes. We must continuously renew our perspective on love and discover its many faces:

Love is patient. It is a constant battle with yourself, a battle of selflessness, of putting the other person first. 

Love is rational, it is a conscious effort and a sacrificial investment. 

Love is forgiving, which can be very hard to be at times. But, when we fall short, that is where this forgiving love comes back in and saves us.

Love can sometimes not even look like love. It could look like a reproval, or an enforcement. 

Love is not prideful, and it has control over anger, because keeping the relationship is always better than keeping scores to prove who is right.

Love is all you need, but love is more than just a feeling. Feelings cannot sustain us — character can. The effort, values, traits, or character that we have can help us attract the right people, and keep those right people. So, always love more than you think you could.

Cheers, 

Axioo