What is Love?

Jordan- I think one of the most important things when it comes to love is learning to love yourself fully first, before seeking love from someone else. Love is an incredible thing that everyone should experience, but loving yourself should be your first concern. If you cannot love and appreciate all the things about yourself, how are you going to expect someone else to?

Valentine's Day is approaching and maybe you’re in a relationship and that’s fantastic, but maybe you find yourself single this Valentine’s Day. I want to encourage you to not focus on others around you, but treat yourself! Start off by writing yourself an encouraging letter, or writing down a list of things you love about yourself. Then get your favorite food, pick out your favorite movie or tv show, get some snacks and enjoy your day!

“Your greatest responsibility is to love yourself and know you are enough.”

Marina- Do you ever question yourself what is “real love”? I am going to share with you guys what I learned over the years of what “real love” is. When you are under the spell of love you really do see the world differently. We tend to see our significant other as the perfect person. It is said that when you are in love, even your partner's farts smell good. I hate to be the one to tell you that once the spell is over, farts don’t smell good at all. Recently, I learned that there is actually chemistry happening in our brains that explains why you feel so excited to see your special person.

For the first 3 to 6 to 9 months, these love chemicals can keep you from seeing or thinking clearly. For those months for sure, it’s hard to see or think clearly about a person. This period is often referred to as the infatuation period. This is basic biology. But it can be risky if you are not aware of the role these hormones play in your decision-making. You might be fooled by the feelings produced by them. Enjoy the great feelings of attraction, early romance. But realize you likely won’t see clearly for 3 to 6 to 9 months. Have fun. Allow your brain to simmer down and see what’s real.

Just keep in mind that “real love” is unconditional love. That is the kind of "love" we all want. In “real love” there is no disappointment, impatience, irritation, or anger. If you have already gotten yourself into trouble for not allowing those chemicals to settle down remember there is always hope and you have the right to get out of any relationship that you are not happy with. There's only one kind of love that can fill us up, and heal our pain, and make us whole and that is unconditional love.

Kala- Love is hard to define but I believe it’s a choice. Love is a deep commitment to honor and respect the people in our lives that are closest to us. Love is not conditional and requires being selfless. Love looks like waking up every day and taking care of my family. It requires time, effort, and a good attitude (usually). Love isn’t conditional, it doesn’t seek its own satisfaction.

For example, love doesn’t say “Well, you didn’t clean your dishes, so I’m not feeding you today”.

My husband loves me really well. He’s kind, funny, engaging, and works to help me when I’m grumpy. My husband knows me so well that if I’m frustrated, he helps to diffuse the situation and ask me how he can help. He’s supportive and caring. When both of us are working, we get home and we need to start cooking dinner and connecting with the family. So we tackle it together some nights, it’s a win-win. We get to be with each other in the kitchen, serving our family while we catch up on our days and address anything that needs to happen.

Yazmin- Love is like taking care of my plants. It’s not something I feel to do but something I choose to do. If I water my plants, they will grow. And If I don’t they will wilt. In that same way we practice love. Love is a process, it’s the action of continuously providing care & respect no matter what. I’ve realized in order to show up for my plants, I have to show up for myself first. Some days I slack on providing care for myself (like I push snooze too many times and don't have time to do my extra things) and that is reflected on my plants. But once I get back to honoring my needs, my plants and I both look amazing. Loving myself first is the way to produce more love for my plants, and others.