Quote

There is a quote that my teacher has quoted a couple times in class that has really stood out to me. I can't remember who said it first but I believe it was a psychologist or therapist.

"Love is the degree to which we are committed to somebody's spiritual growth and well being"

I absolutely love this! There are so many different kinds of love and often the love we feel for someone changes throughout a relationship. I think that it is easy, in the beginning of a relationship, to get caught up in passionate love or eros which is a Greek word for the type of love between a man and woman, it's romantic and has a longing to be with the other. But when we truly love someone we are concerned about their well-being and not what we can get out of the relationship. This can be a love for a spouse, friend, child, or other family member. Are we striving to help them become a better person? Do we want the best for them? Often this gets overlooked in a relationship that only has passion because we are only thinking about what we will get out of the relationship. When we get past the passion we can see the person for who he or she really is. Not just an object of our desire.

The love that the above quote describes is a companionate love. This is a love in which you see and know the other person's faults and weaknesses but you love them anyways. The couple works together to make each other better and doesn't place one or the other on a pedestal. There are shared goals and a process of building and support. The difficult thing is that the media sells us passionate love. Movies, books, songs, and many other sources lead us to believe that passionate love will last forever and that the physical is all that is needed. Through the media Satan sells us these lies and sometimes we buy it. But to have a relationship that will last we need companionate love, a love in which we are concerned about the other person's spiritual, mental, and physical needs. The couple that shares a companionate love can build a marriage and a family on a strong foundation. And it is the family that is so important to society. And it is the family that Satan is striving to destroy and one of his tactics is by making us believe that passionate love, the physical attraction and lust, is all that is needed. When in reality it is just a factor, there is so much more.

I would encourage everyone to evaluate their relationships and discover what kind of love those relationships are based on. And then remember to forget yourself and love others, be concerned with their lives and what they are striving for. And whether it is a friendship, family relationship, or a relationship with a significant other, strive to build each other up and make each other better.