The Essense of Love

Love is subject that has many different meanings. One may say that love is respect, where another may say that it is trust. Then, of course, there are many people who would stand by the fact that love means both respect and trust, along with many other things. Love is both a burden and a blessing. It is both wonderful and terrifying. It makes sense, and can be confusing.

Before we go on to examine why it is important to experience love from others, it is important to realise that all of us have different perceptions of love as mentioned above. Some people are so caught up in their own minds that they do not even realise when someone really loves and appreciate them. It is important to keep your eyes open and being emphatic.

Harry Harlow, in the 1950s, concluded that people need some form of caring or love from others around them to have a stable and balanced life. He concluded this after conducting a series of psychological experiments and studying the effects of relationships on people.

In addition to this, Abraham Maslow, who worked closely with Harry Harlow was able to establish that all people, regardless of age, sex, location, and origin had a basic set of needs. This theory becomes widely known as "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs".

Maslow argued that all humans need social interaction. Once all the basic needs of life have been met, people look to form alliances in the form of family, friends and intimate relationships.

Love allows us to feel as if we "belong" - that we have a special place in not only the world as a whole, but in the world of another and our own world. When we love, and that love is returned, we experience a sense of acceptance. Those that fail to experience love firsthand may suffer through many different negative consequences.

Those that do not love, feel that they are not loved, and lack a sense of "belonging" to the people in their lives can experience any of the following symptoms and/or emotions:

1. Many may feel extremely lonely. This may just affect one area of life, or several areas. It is possible to feel loved at home, and not feel this emotion among others.

2. Social anxiety as a result of not feeling accepted.

3. The collective result may result in depression.

4. In severe cases, many individuals who fail to feel as if they are loved may experience suicidal thoughts, or may actually attempt this act. Unfortunately, many have actually succeeded.

As you can see, feeling loved, and actually loving someone else in return is a very important element when it comes to feeling good about who we are and the lives that we lead. What is love? Love is when you can feel good without harming another or yourself. It is about a two way street that involves trust and respect. It is about identifying the best in others, as well as ourselves.