Love And Respect In Relationships

Love is a virtue that can be demonstrated in a multitude of ways. Many of the definitions found in Webster’s New World Dictionary relate love to a feeling – “a passionate affection of one person for another.” I will add two elements to the definition of love: love requires action and love is unconditional. Love involves acts of kindness or generosity that do not require response. Showing love involves displaying feelings, but feelings should not be the driving force in how or why you demonstrate love. If you reserve your love for those who made you feel good, you would tend to withhold love more often. Children can sometimes display behavior that arouses feelings in parents that may not be loving. During those times, feelings of anger and frustration can cause parents to put their children down and to place conditions on their love for them.

Respect entails the ability to appreciate and bring out the unique qualities of others while placing value on their opinions and abilities. Many times, each person in a relationship may emphasize the negative attributes of the other. Those that are negatively impacted may begin to shift their desire from developing special talents to focusing attention on repairing physical or character flaws. Have you or the person in your relationship thought about getting cosmetic surgery, experienced dissatisfaction at work, or experienced stagnation? The absence of respect may make it difficult for either one of you to appreciate and develop natural gifts and talents.