Different Types of Love
Most of the times, love is mistaken to be linked romantically only. And when this happens, people often fail to comprehend that love has a myriad of hues than just that. There are different types of love that people experience in life and each time they experience a particular type of love, they realize its existence in the world. Until then, they are oblivious to its existence and presence. While the dictionary defines love as a feeling, emotion or action experienced by a person, in actuality, love, in its different forms, can be explained only through a stream-of-conscious association. And when you associate the feeling of loving others and being loved to reality, you understand the different types of love. The following lines highlight our tryst in putting forward the basic types of love that a person experiences in life. Read on and enlighten yourself as well.
Different Types of Love
Maternal/ Paternal Love This is the foremost type of love that a person experiences even before he/she comes into the world. From the time a woman conceives, this love emerges strongly for the child and remains until the death. While maternal love refers to the love showered on the child by a mother, paternal love is the love that a father bestows upon his little one. This is most basic type of unconditional love that has ruled the world ever since the evolution of mankind. Maternal love is more concerned with nurturing, acceptance and protectiveness, whereas paternal love involves guidance and control.
Platonic Love Type 2 of love can be termed as the sweetest of all. Commonly experienced in the company of siblings, chuddy buddies and friends, this is one of the foremost types of love that a child experiences after maternal/paternal love. This type of love is pure in its form and has no strings attached to it. Interestingly, platonic love emerges at a time when a child doesn’t even know the meaning of love, when life is all about cartoons, food, play and sleep. With time, platonic love helps in developing strong bonds that play a quintessential role in the life of a person.
Teenage Love Do you remember your first crush? Of course, you do! No person can deny the irresistible spark that a first crush has on life. Those jolts in stomach, the grinning smile that you just can’t seem to control and that bizarre sense of throwing up each time he/she comes forward are one of the sweetest sensations of growing up, especially teenage. Infatuations and crushes are a part of growing up stage and often eventually lead to romantic love. Fantasy, illusion and dreaminess are associated with this type of love. Teenagers have a whimsical fantasy about it and are often seen making castles in the air. Hands down, those flights of fancy and pipedreams are definitely the cutest experiences of love!
Romantic Love Even before Valentine’s Day was celebrated, romantic love existed! The most popular form of love, it is a celebration of union of two people who are passionate for each other and have an understanding between them. With romantic love in the air, the world just seems to be a better place to live in. Romantic love dominates the cognitive, emotional and behavioural aspect of a person so much so that not a single second is spend without having the other mind. The blissfulness of love overpowers every other feeling and experience and makes life worth living. Such is the ecstasy of the time that just the idea of being in love makes a person go weak in the knees and have butterflies in stomach.
Unconditional Love Well, arguably the most pious and the hardest of all, unconditional love is not what many experience. It is like taking a leap of faith altogether to the next level and making your partner fall in love once again. Though it is not an ‘out of the world’ experience, it is definitely not easy to attain. Selflessness is the only word that best describes unconditional love. It is like loving someone more than loving your own self. If you care for someone more than you care for anything in the world, chances are you are in the middle of unconditional love. The most sincere form of love, unconditional love lasts forever.
Spiritual Love Just like unconditional love, not many experience spiritual love either. It is the oneness with God that one feels. When the love for the Divine is deeply intertwined with the being, spiritual love emerges. It is a belief that a person has over God and the willingness to share the same with friends and fellow people. The transcendental nature of spiritual love is exceptional and can be felt only when a person is truly involved with God.
Self-Love To love someone, you need to first love yourself. Self-love is the positive feeling that you have for what you are and what you deserve. This feeling of love is often expressed by treating yourself well, respecting yourself, wanting yourself to be happy. Self-love often determines a person’s status in the society and the demand for respect and concern from fellow people. Only when you respect your individuality and distinctiveness, would others follow suit too. So, if you have been belittling yourself for quite some time and having disparaging views about your own self, stop doing the same! Love yourself to truly love others!
Tough Love An unusual form of love, tough love is a love that is closely guarded and seemingly hard. Does this make you wonder how can something like love be hard and tough? It can, if it is aimed for the betterment of a person. An example of the same is the forceful enrolment of a drug addict into a rehabilitation centre by his parents. This act of love, though may seem tough on the outside, actually stems from the thought of helping the child have a better and safe future. A day-to-day example of this type of love is when parents reprimand their children to study and not idle their time away.
Final Call: Now that you have been enlightened about the different types of love that exist in the world, find out how many of them have you experienced? Value each type of love that you have felt.
