Have you ever expressed your love to someone and waited patiently for him or her to express it back? If so, you are not alone. Many of us get caught up in thinking that everyone expresses love in the same ways and at the same times and when that does not happen, we find ourselves disappointed. The secret to understanding love better is to acknowledge that there are various languages of love, which are used to express it. In fact, no two people express love in exactly the same ways, and this creates a variety of loving gestures and expressions in a relationship.
First we need to be honest with ourselves and understand that men and women express love differently and at different times. For example, a woman might prepare a romantic dinner for her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day and when he arrives, he might greet her lovingly. She might expect him to bring her flowers, chocolates, wine or maybe jewelry and he might not have done any of these things. Instead, he might give her a card with a gift certificate inside or maybe plan a weekend away with her sometime. The important thing to note in this situation is that both the man and the woman are expressing their love for each other, but in different ways, which are unique to them. Love gets expressed by both people, but in different mediums. We need to be open to these differences of expression, in order to embrace love properly and not get caught up in the details of who did what, when and how.Â
Body language is likely the most popular way in which love gets expressed. Unfortunately in many cases it is the only way that love gets expressed. In those cases, one might ask themselves if sexuality alone is enough to compose love. The answer to this question may vary, depending on your perspective on what a loving relationship is.
Everyone’s needs or wants in a relationship differ and the important thing is to find yourself with a person who shares the same perspective on this as you. Unhappiness results when one person wants love to be expressed on many levels while the other is content with only one level of expression and perhaps outside the realm of love even.
Finally, the key is to keep an open mind when you are in a loving relationship with a person. You should try not to place restrictions on the mediums in which love can be expressed between the two of you. Love after all takes so many interesting, creative and exciting forms. We need to be open to the different languages of love and embrace all the goodness and joy that can result from it.Â
Imagine that love and all the unique expressions of it are like a bouquet of flowers, and each flower is an expression of love. To truly feel the warmth and radiance of love it should be embraced in all dimensions with a receptive heart and mind.