What is True Love?

I believe that true love is not only real but is also obtainable by the ordinary. No need for royalty or theatre depiction. Superficially, true love means to most “an unconditional love.” People believe they can find love but think they need to be the exception to have the true form of love; that true love is a transcending type of love. Don’t get me wrong, there are some types of love that are exceptional (high school sweethearts or lovers who find each other again after years apart) but really, everyone who wants love deserves love and any love can be true love when both people put their all into it. I believe there is more to see of true love than imagining some magical fairytale ending, there’s persistence and hard work involved.

Let’s start by breaking down the words.

True as an adjective, means “in accordance with fact or reality…accurate or exact…loyal or faithful.” The definition of true leads to the understanding of real and honest.

Love, a noun in our case, means “an intense feeling of deep affection…great interest and pleasure in something.” This meaning notates a personal interest but also an admiration outside of self-centered reasonings.

When putting these two words together, we learn that true love means an affection based in loyalty and reality.

To take it a step further, we see affection as a fondness, fondness as liking, liking as regard, and regard as consideration and connection. With consideration and connection comes a mutually beneficial relationship. Many people say “to be loved is to be seen” and this is where the consideration comes into aspect. Making decisions now involves the consideration of the wants, needs, hopes, dreams, and goals of another. The actions you take, words you speak, the thoughts you think, even in secret, should be made in consideration of the one you love. It is studied to show that the average person makes 33,000 to 35,000 decisions per day. As simple as getting a snack at the gas station all the way to planning something as big as buying a house. From another study, “experts note that one of the 35,000 daily decisions is the choice to love your spouse. That means, in theory, a married person could be making hundreds [to thousands] of decisions each day that directly benefit or involve their spouse — from practical matters like meal planning to emotional choices like forgiveness or trust.”

Ultimately, true love is simply the feeling of love refined through circumstances to be proven solid and stable where both parties are equally contended.

When I think of true love and the way I have come to know it, I see comfort and reassurance. A relationship of maturity, respect, and satisfaction. As the connection withstands trials, it bounces back with a happy resilience. Lingering feelings of doubt are replaced with trust and steadiness. In the heat of the storm, there’s no fear that this is the end, the promise of forever still stands. Even in the moments where your tongue races your heart and threatens pain, you both can immediately call the bluff because your love is rooted in a truth that fighting can’t take away. It’s not just coming home to each other; it’s finding home in each other.