Love, Love, Love, Love
Eros, Philia, Storge, Agape
Four Hearts by Jim Dine
As Valentine’s Day approaches, think about how you use the word “love” in your life. You love your significant other, kids, friends, and siblings in different ways.
See
This week we are looking at four types of love. The descriptions found within the post all come from an interview with Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones-University of Utah Health (newswise).
Eros: erotic, passionate love
In Bed, The Kiss by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
The Kiss by Constantin Brancusi
We might as well get that one out of the way first. Eros is erotic or sexual, or passionate love. It's often all about need, and it's more about the person who's feeling sexually attractive than it is about the person who is the focus of that love or thing that is the focus of that love. It is addicting. It can cause great joy and great sorrow. It isn't always good for you.
Philia: love of friends and equals
Camaradas Painting by Eileen Lunecke
Pedaling Among Clouds by Josep Moncada
Friendship by Jan Farthing
It can be the love between lovers when they've been together for a long time and are not so hot and bothered anymore. It is the accepting love of good friendship. This is the love that is good for your health—the touch of a loved one. The philia touch lowers blood pressure. People in loving relationships feel your love, have few doctor visits, shorter hospital visits, have less pain, and have more positive emotions. These positive consequences of loving friendships make us more resilient when hard times come.
Storge: love of parents for children
Done Good Daddy by Cbabi Bayoc
The Cradle by Berthe Morisot
This kind of love is what mothers know best but isn't talked about much when we talk about love. It is the love of parents for children. It is described as the most natural of loves. Natural in that it's present without corrosion. It's emoted because we can't help ourselves, and it pays the least attention to whether the person is worthy of love. But, in many ways, it's probably genetically programmed and hard-wired.
Agape: love of mankind
LOVINGKINDNESS OVERFLOWING in Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, is a photograph by Ruth Hager
Golden Vision - Agape by Makoto Fujimura
The love is modeled on the love of the Christian God for men and the love of man for God. It's the love given, whether or not it's returned. It's love without any self-benefit. In the Buddhist tradition, it is the central foundation of loving kindness for all mankind. This kind of love is important in the process of forgiveness. Forgiveness is important to your health because the inability to forgive is associated with anger, and several health outcomes are not very good. But, on the other hand, it may be the foundation for happiness and contentment.
Say
The most abstract art images above attempt to capture the Agape love. Which of the two do you think comes closer to representing Agape love to you and why?
Tell someone why you love them.
Do
Think about the relationships that are meaningful to you. Which category of love best suits each? Then, be grateful for the loves in your life!
Create a Valentine for a love no matter which category they fall into!
Listen to the Modern Love podcast to celebrate all kinds of love!
Please share your reflections with me by replying to this post and tagging my Wonder Wander Facebook or Instagram pages!
