In the move "Wedding Crashers", John Beckwith responds to Clair's question about what is love with "True love is the soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another"
Love is easy to show, near impossible to explain
Love is expressed in songs, stories, and in our favorite Rom-Coms. Love is a feeling that almost all have experienced at some level in life. Whether it would be from a parent, family member, a partner, or a spouse. The difficulty is being able to articulate what love really is. Often time, the emotion and the need it fulfills pulls at that heart strings and floods the body with joy, gratitude, happiness and can also cause the feeling of heart ache, loss, and disappointment. There are also those who never experienced or shown love growing up which can create confusion and being overwhelmed.
There are many forms of love:
Romantic Love - This type of love is filled with passion and physical and emotional intimacy and connection.
Familial Love - the connection between family members that embodies loyalty, trust, and unconditional love
Platonic Love - Close friendships that are trusting, safe, and incorporates an emotional connection without the romantic component
Self-Love - Vital for positive mental health. Self-love encompasses acceptance, forgiveness, and nurturing and prioritizing our needs and wants while owning our flaws and imperfections.
Universal Love - Compassion, empathy, and care for others creates a unique interconnection between individuals.
What would our world look like if universal love was accepted as a truth
In order to develop emotional intimacy it's important to understand love languages. Love languages are identifiers of your needs as well as people in your life.
Physical Touch - hugs, kiss, cuddling, holding hands, back rub
Quality Time - time spent together on walks, exploring the world, or watch a show
Affirmations - words or encouragement or validation
Gifts - materialistic gifts either purchased or handmade
Acts of Service - doing chores, making dinner, helping with projects
I would invite you to get a good sense of your needs, prioritize them, and share with your partner what they can do to meet those needs. Ask them to do the same for you
Perhaps the ability to explain love isn't as important as the way love is expressed through a hug, kiss, a phone call, lending and helping hand, visiting a friend, or asking "Are you OK?"