Love is a rich emotion. The more you contemplate love — and feel love — the richer it becomes. This post continues the list of love’s feeling states that began in the previous post. As you read, see if you can recall a moment when you had the feeling that is described. See if you can feel it again now.

• The laugh. What you and your partner share when you are amused together, by something that was just said or perhaps by a sudden admission one of you made that made an argument comical. Shared laughter is an expression of a particular kind of common experience: We are together in amusement. Laughter lifts the relationship.
• Gratitude. Your partner has gone an extra distance for your benefit or made a brave admission that you would find hard to make. Your heart goes out to your partner in gratitude for the depth of that person’s caring or vulnerability. The feeling is one of being deeply touched — moved in your heart.
• Just doing my part. The behavior that goes with this feeling is easy to describe; the feeling itself is not. “Just doing my part” occurs when you are helping out, doing your chores and in other ways lightening your partner’s load. You could be doing all that without actually thinking of your partner at the time, but if you are, then the accompanying feelings are likely to be “ordinary,” as in simple, affectionate, appreciative, low-key.
• Yes with trepidation. You are likely to have these feelings when something your partner has done in the past leads you to be wary of that person. Time has passed. Your partner has made amends and asked for your forgiveness. You have given it. Now you both want to put the past behind you and embrace the present and the future. And yet… Doubt lingers and especially fear. The feeling is hope, love and determination mixed with fear. It’s a complicated feeling.

Of course, there are more feeling states of love than these that occur to me and that I describe in the previous post and in this one. Try this: In the comment space at the end of this post, add to the list with other feeling states that you associate with love and your own tag for each.

Catch the Every Day Love Podcast No. 9 on The Feelings of Love, November 3, 7 PM

Tags: feelings of love, love definition

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 12:47 PM and is filed under Love-Feelings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.