I was going to say, love is not being a selfish asshole haha. But you're so much more eloquent than me
And I have loved. I believe that love doesn’t just happen...infatuation and chemistry happens. But love requires a mutual back and forth to reach it, imo.
The "warm and fuzzies" we get for someone is not love - that's attraction. True, lasting love is not the emotion that we call love. Love is being willing and committed to putting someone else before yourself (myself) - their needs, their desires, their wants. That's the kind of love that takes us to the end, long after the warm and fuzzies fade. If two people share that level of commitment, and willingness, to put the other first, even when we don't feel like it, or want to, that is true love. To me, love is a verb: it's what I DO for someone, not necessarily how I FEEL about someone. My $.02
Aww commitment is love, making someone come first is love. Those feelings of heart jumps have never faded for me. I know we are all different.
tourguidewv gets it. For long-term love, you have to be willing to put the other person first, - in all circumstances. What sucks is when it's a one-way street.
Relationships can go bad but i don't see how love can go bad. If love went bad then how was it really love to begin with? Its seems like almost everyone that speaks of love, speaks of a love based on certain conditions. Like certain conditions have to be met in order for there to be love. Like a person has to fulfill your egotistical mind deeply enough then magically love appears. Or a love that is dependent on some other living thing for love to exist. Like there has to be someone else there otherwise love wouldn't exist. As oppose to the other bringing out what was already inside of you. Or a person already being full of love and is just seeking someone to share it with. Its amusing to hear from time to time a suppose "loving" relationship and one wanting to end it because the other doesn't want to have sex with them.
Love is not a bargain, do not expect returns, just because you gave love, it must be selfless. Never change just because the other is not reciprocating in the same manner, love must be patient.
Relationships can easily be destroyed by others, that is life. Never put yourself in that position, temptation has been around since the beginning of time. Is love dependant on commitment? Can love exist without sexual encounters? Does love flourish in arranged marriages? So many questions.