What is LOVE?

As I’m sure we’re all aware there are many types of love that is all around us, and if you ‘Google’ it there can be as many as 12!!

The four basic types according to Greek philosophy are;

Agape – Love for the Universe that is bigger than yourself

Eros – The romantic love that can break hearts

Philia – The love you feel for your family or your closest friends

Storge – The love that comes from feeling secure in those you trust

There’s also….

Philautia – Loving and accepting who you are

Pragma – The enduring love that lasts a lifetime

Ludus – Playful love for young couples

Mania – A madness that drives you towards obsession

There are many listed that we are fully aware of, hopefully have experienced many of them as we journey through life.

Mania is the one many people would use to describe how they feel about certain food, obsessive and always thinking about it, however, if that was the only food you had available to eat forever, do you think you’d still feel the same in a year’s time? Probably not, the fixation usually arises as you feel it isn’t something healthy and may have been forbidden.

Sadly the one that often eludes us is Philautia, so let’s explore this one in greater depth. The word itself is from the ancient Greek word for self-love. Self-love is not selfishness or narcissism, but a healthy way of caring for yourself so that you better take care of others. It is an important part of leading a happy and fulfilling life. It is so important because without it, there would be nobody to love. If you do not love yourself, how can you expect someone else to. It is something we should all strive for.

Narcissistic people are those who feel superior to others. It’s a big difference from self-love, which actually is about feeling whole and content with yourself, it’s also not selfishness, if you can’t take care of yourself first, it’s more difficult to take care of others.

Any flight travelers will be familiar with the safety briefing – FIT YOUR OWN MASK FIRST!! You cannot help others if you can’t breathe!!

It seems that as we move into different era’s and are often bombarded with images of what being perfect and lovable should look like, we are usually left feeling inadequate. The key has got to be reminding yourself that ‘you are enough’ You are doing everything in your power to become happier, healthier, more active and of course lighter.

Love yourself first and everything falls into line

lucille ball