The Meaning of Love & Connection

In a post, I asked the question, “what do love and connection mean to you?” I had several people comment to provide their thoughts on the topic. Here are what they had to say:

Love & Connection mean loving each person as a person, recognizing their worth, and treating them with the dignity they deserve. Showing our love and care for others is so important in maintaining relationships – Morgan Meyer

Love is adapting and adjusting to another person’s communication style.  Connection is seeking out the interest that helps emotional engagement. Love and Connection together is taking that wee bit of extra time and effort to go beyond just what’s on the surface and intending to engage at a deeper level – Joy Abdullah

If you’d asked me this question 30 years ago, I would have responded with a romantic definition of it. I’ve come to know true love and connection begins with you. When you love yourself unconditionally and are connected to who you are, that is love at its’ highest level. It is from there we can love and connect with others, at a deeply human level – Kimberley Richardson

Love means laying your life down for another, wanting the best for that person, valuing and accepting, and loving them unconditionally. Relational love is a supernatural connection where your hearts and purpose intertwine with God’s to form an unbreakable triple-braided cord – Liz Franklin

Love takes on many forms and is not - as we all know - restricted to the romantic version. Romantic love is as varied as its participants. There is no doubt love contributes to a full and giving life. I say giving because real love is about giving in many ways. We need to be careful not to be fooled by the false promises masked as love in our world; we need to live - awake and in respect for our own needs. Love is beautiful in its purest form, unselfish, unconditional, and a respectfully, empathetic, compassionate expression of the value we place on another person, animal, group, place, or belief, without whom we feel a certain loss or grief (especially once the love has been known to us and shared – Karen Cleary

I believe that both love and connection must exist in a relationship or friendship for it to work out. Love to me is a deep connection to others’ values and perspectives – Marisol Lopez

Love is the highest form of expression in everything good in the world and within us. Connection is an expression of love that fuels expansion within and throughout all of us as a collective – Jennifer Spor

This value is deep-rooted, with almost everything connected to our soul. Spiritual and emotional or physical connection has to be built on the foundation of true, sincere love. When you are willing to give a part of you to or for someone and not expecting anything in return is pure love  - Ruheena Kabir

Summary

The gift of love expresses itself through acceptance, respect, and caring for another. When we love ourselves, we know how to love others. We value, support, and show the dignity people deserve. These actions create a bond, connecting us to the lives of others.