What Love Means to Me Beyond Romance

Love is a beautiful thing and one of the feelings everyone deserves to have throughout their lifetime. Love means different things to different people; my definition of love may be somewhat different from yours, but regardless of the definition we have about love, the universe's definition is that it's a force that, although invisible, has the power to not only connect people but also stimulate care, support, and much more. Knowing that, what is my own definition of love? Below I'll be stating it, why I think it ought to be so, and much more.

When it comes to my definition of love, it's actually not pinpointed to a single thing, so I'll be talking about each aspect of what love is to me or how I see it below. Number one on the list of my definitions of love is that love means showing up, even when it's hard. Love is all about sacrificing, be it your time, attention, your words, and the like, even when you're scared yourself, or when you're tired or going through something terrible. Love is you being there for those you claim to love and putting aside your own challenges to be there for them.

Love is a safe space; it's a place where you can be free enough to be vulnerable without being judged. Regardless of your gender, you can feel free to pour out your heart, show weakness, and be vulnerable—not because you're actually weak or can't hide your emotions; it's just because you feel safe around that person and you're open enough to let them see you in your vulnerable state. Love to me is also being responsible; that's having the integrity to do what is right and abstain from bad things, performing your responsibilities, and not cheating on your partner or doing things that'll hurt them. I mean, how can you say you love someone and yet do things that can hurt their feelings?

So in a nutshell, if I were to put my definition of love into a statement, I'd say love is being compassionate and having compassion; it's being loyal; it's caring deeply about someone to the point of staying through thick and thin; it's all about sacrificing, being there for someone else even when it seems inconvenient; and most of all, love is all about emotional safety, and that's because it ought to make people feel better and confident, not smaller or fearful.

All photos are taken and edited on canva.