In the Mood for Love: The Many Ways Love Stays
Ever since the beginning of time, love has shaped human experiences. It has inspired poets, driven artists to madness, and ignited wars and revolutions. From Shakespeare's poems to Edith Piaf's lyrics, love is the force that moves us, the unseen thread woven into every culture, era, and life.
But for all its grandeur, love also lingers in the quiet—pressed between the pages of a letter, in the scent of someone who once held us close, in the way light catches the worn edges of something cherished. Love is not just something we give or receive; it is something we carry, cultivate, and transform when nurtured. Love is just magnificent; let's dive into it...
A History Written in Love
Few emotions have been as studied, dissected, and celebrated as love. It is the foundation of mythology, the subject of philosophy, and the pulse behind art.
The Greeks broke it into categories, here are a few:
Eros, passionate, sexual, and fiery; Philia, the deep bond of friendship and trust; Agape, unconditional and selfless love for everyone.
In the 13th century, Rumi described love as both a wound and a healer: "The wound is the place where the Light enters you." Morrison's writing explores love in the context of race and identity, often showing the resilience and strength of love in the face of adversity.
Event neuroscientists have found that in its many forms, love triggers the brain's reward system, flooding us with oxytocin and dopamine—the chemicals that make us feel safe, connected, and alive. According to Harvard Medical School: In addition to the positive feelings romance brings, love also deactivates the neural pathway responsible for negative emotions, such as fear and social judgment...
Love, in all its shades, is what binds humanity together. But there's one form of love we often overlook, the root of all others: the love we give ourselves.
Why Love Matters—For the Body, Mind, and Soul
Love is not just a feeling; it's a biological necessity. A fantastic article from GGSC, highlights that research found that people with loving social relationships enjoy longer lives and are less likely to face premature death.
But love is not only about being loved by others. Studies in self-compassion, led by Dr. Kristin Neff at the University of Texas, show that people who practice self-love experience lower cortisol levels, improved emotional resilience, and a greater ability to form meaningful connections.
Cultivating love for ourselves strengthens our ability to give, receive, and see love in all its forms.
How to Cultivate Love—For Yourself and Others
As we mentioned above, there are so many shapes of love, and there’s so much written about all of them. Love is an action, a choice made repeatedly. It’s found in the kiss you give a loved one, a handwritten note tucked into a pocket, the pause in a conversation that allows someone to be heard, and the warm touch that says, "I'm here." But we want to highlight that when you cultivate love for yourself, you begin to see the love that lingers everywhere—even in places that may not be obvious. This love is constant and ever-present. Let's explore both of these aspects of love.
🌿 Love for Oneself To love outwardly, we must first turn inward. Love yourself as you would love someone special. Take your time in the morning. Make space for yourself. Fill a journal with your thoughts. Practice loving-kindness meditation. Honor your emotions, stillness, and existence, and make sure your world around you loves you as you deserve... be kind but respectful about that boundary that allows you to be loved (it always starts with you.)
🕯 Love That Lingers Love is not always grand or immediate. Sometimes, it’s the quiet moments that remind us it’s still there— love remains long after a moment has passed. It lingers in the scent left on fabric, in a song playing in an empty room, in the rain, in a poem, and the lesson passed down in a moment of reflection. Love doesn’t always announce itself. It's waiting to be noticed, felt, and remembered. And once we begin to love ourselves fully, we start to see love in everything: in a stranger’s kindness, a soft breeze, and the way the world moves around us. Love is not just something we experience; it is something we carry, always... FELL IT... ENJOY IT!
The Art of Simply Feeling Love
We often try to define love, label it, and measure its worth by how it is reciprocated. But sometimes, love is simply meant to be felt.
It's in the way the sun warms your skin on a cold morning. In the face of a loved one. In the laughter shared over a meal. In the stillness of being completely alone yet entirely whole.
Love moves. Love shifts. Love stays. It is not just in the grand gestures, but in the smallest moments.
Let it be. Let it live in the quiet, in the remembering, in the giving, in the receiving.
We wish you all a beautiful day full of LOVE!
Btw, watch In the Mood for Love. A masterpiece worth remembering