The Nature of Love is to Nurture

It is the Nature of Love to Love, and this simple statement encapsulates the very essence of what makes love such a powerful force in our lives.

Love is a fundamental human emotion that drives us to care for and nurture others, and it is something that we all crave, whether consciously or unconsciously. But what is it about love that makes it so essential to our well-being, and why does it have such a profound impact on our lives?

At its core, love is about connection. It is the bond that we share with others, whether it be with a romantic partner, a family member, a friend, or even a pet.

Love is what brings us together, and it is what allows us to form deep and meaningful relationships with the people and animals in our lives. Love is also about acceptance, understanding, and compassion. When we love someone, we accept them for who they are, flaws and all, and we strive to understand and support them in all that they do.

But love is more than just an emotion. It is also an action, a verb that requires us to take action and nurture the relationships that we have.

Love requires us to be there for others, to listen to them, to offer support and encouragement, and to be a source of strength and comfort when they need it most.

Love is about showing up for the people in our lives, even when it’s hard, and putting in the effort to make those relationships thrive.

In many ways, love is about spiritual growth and spiritual awakening.

When we love someone, we are invested in their growth and development, and we strive to help them become the best version of themselves.

This means encouraging them to pursue their passions, supporting them in their goals, and helping them overcome any obstacles that stand in their way. Love is about nurturing and supporting others, and helping them reach their full potential.

Of course, love is not always easy.

It requires vulnerability, patience, and a willingness to forgive and work through challenges. But ultimately, love is worth it.

It is the most powerful force in the world, and it has the ability to transform our lives in countless ways.

Love can bring us joy, comfort, and a sense of purpose, and it can help us navigate the ups and downs of life with greater ease and resilience.

In the end the nature of love is to nurture.

It is about connection, acceptance, and growth, and it requires us to take action and invest in the relationships that we have.

Love is that most powerful force that has the ability to transform our lives in countless ways, and it is something that we should all strive to cultivate and cherish in our lives.

Whether it be with a romantic partner, a family member, a friend, or a pet, love is essential to our well-being and happiness, and it is something that we should never take for granted.

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.

Shakespeare on Love

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind’

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Act 1, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘Speak low if you speak love’

(Much Ado About Nothing – Act 2, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘If music be the food of love, play on’

(Twelfth Night – Act 1, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘The course of true love never did run smooth’

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Act 1, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘Love goes by haps; Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps’

(Much Ado About Nothing – Act 3, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘She’s beautiful, and therefore to be wooed;

She is woman, and therefore to be won’

(Henry VI Part 1 – Act 5, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘The stroke of death is as a lovers pinch, Which hurts and is desired’

(Antony & Cleopatra – Act 5, Scene 5)

~ ~~ ~

‘Love is like a child, That longs for everything it can come by’

(The Two Gentlemen of Verona – Act 3, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘Oh, how this spring of love resembleth, The uncertain glory of an April day, Which now shows all beauty of the Sun, And by and by a cloud takes all away’

(The Two Gentlemen of Verona – Act 1, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘There’s beggary in love that can be reckoned’

(Antony & Cleopatra – Act 1, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?’

(As You Like It – Act 3, Scene 5)

~ ~ ~

‘Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you,

Did my heart fly at your service’

(The Tempest – Act 3, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee, and when I love thee not, chaos is come again’

(Othello – Act 3, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘Love is a smoke and is made with the fume of sighs’

(Romeo and Juliet – Act 1, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

Love is blind, and lovers cannot see,

The pretty follies that themselves commit’

(The Merchant of Venice – Act 2, Scene 6)

~ ~ ~

‘Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move his aides,

Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love’

Hamlet – Act 2, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘You have witchcraft in your lips’

(Henry V – Act 5, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘The sight of lovers feedeth those in love’

(As You Like It – Act 3, Scene 4)

~ ~ ~

‘What is light, if Sylvia be not seen?

What is joy if Sylvia be not by?’

(The Two Gentlemen of Verona – Act 3, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘Come what sorrow can, It cannot countervail the exchange of joy,

That one short minute gives me in her sight’

(Romeo and Juliet – Act 2, Scene 6)

~ ~ ~

‘I will not be sworn but love may transform me to an oyster’

(Much Ado About Nothing – Act 2, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘Love sought is good, but given unsought is better’

(Twelfth night – Act 3, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘A heart to love, and in that heart, Courage, to make’s love known’

(Macbeth – Act 2, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘Cupid is a knavish lad, thus to make females mad’

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Act 3, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘They are in the very wrath of love, and they will go together.

Clubs cannot part them’

(As You Like It – Act 5, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘I would not wish any companion in the world but you’

(The Tempest – Act 3, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘The sight of lovers feedeth those in love’

(As You Like It – Act 3, Scene 4)

~ ~ ~

‘I pray you, do not fall in love with me,

For I am falser than vows made in wine’

(As You Like It – Act 3, Scene 5)

~ ~ ~

‘What a pretty thing man is when he goes in his doublet

and hose and leaves off his wit!’

(Much Ado About Nothing – Act 5, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘Her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love’

(Anotony & Cleopatra – Act 3, Scene 5)

~ ~ ~

‘You cannot call it love, for at your age the heyday in the blood is tame’

(Hamlet – Act 3, Scene 4)

~ ~ ~

‘Lovers can do their amorous rites by their own beauties’

(Romeo and Juliet – Act 3, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘Love is begun by time, And time qualifies the spark and fire of it’

(Hamlet – Act 4, Scene 7)

~ ~ ~

‘Love hath made thee a tame snake’

(As You Like It – Act 4, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘Is this the generation of love? Hot blood, hot thoughts and hot deeds?

Why, they are vipers. Is love a generation of vipers?’

(Troilus & Cressida – Act 3, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘She loved me for the dangers I had passed,

And I loved her that she did pity them’

(Othello – Act 1, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘This bud of love by summer’s ripening breath,

May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet’

(Romeo and Juliet – Act 2, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

Mistress, you know yourself, down on your knees,

And thank heaven, fasting, for a good man’s love’

(As You Like It – Act 3, Scene 5)

~ ~ ~

‘His unkindness may defeat my life, But never taint my love’

(Othello – Act 4, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘In thy youth wast as true a lover,

As ever sighed upon a midnight pillow’

(As You Like It – Act 2, Scene 4)

~ ~ ~

‘Lovers ever run before the clock’

(The Merchant of Venice – Act 2, Scene 6)

~ ~ ~

‘A heart to love, and in that heart, Courage, to make’s love known’

(Macbeth – Act 2, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say ‘I love you”

(Henry V – Act 5, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘For where thou art, there is the world itself,

And where thou art not, desolation’

(Henry VI Part 2 – Act 3, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me’

(Much Ado About Nothing – Act 1, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘She will die if you love her not,

And she will die ere she might make her love known’

(Much Ado About Nothing – Act 2, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘I humbly do beseech of your pardon, For too much loving you’

(Othello – Act 3, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them,

but not for love’

(As You Like It – Act 4, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘I’ll make my heaven in a lady’s lap’

(Henry VI part 3 – Act 3, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘Men’s vows are women’s traitors’

(Cymbeline – Act 3, Scene 4)

~ ~ ~

‘I know a lady in Venice would have walked barefoot to Palestine

for a touch of his nether lip’

(Othello – Act 4, Scene 3)

~ ~ ~

‘Love will not be spurred to what it loathes’

(The Two Gentlemen of Verona – Act 5, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

Alas, that love, so gentle in his view,

Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof’

(Romeo and Juliet – Act 1, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘To be wise and love, Exceeds man’s might’

(Troilus & Cressida – Act 3, Scene 2)

~ ~ ~

‘My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

Romeo and Juliet – Act 2, Scene 1)

~ ~ ~

‘I love you more than words can wield the matter, Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty’

(King Lear – Act 1, secene 1)

~ ~ ~

“Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken.”

– Sonnet 116

The Nature of Love includes Self-Love

Self-Love is a crucial aspect of love that is often overlooked. It’s important to remember that we cannot truly love others unless we first love ourselves.

Self-love is about accepting ourselves for who we are, embracing our strengths and weaknesses, and treating ourselves with kindness and compassion.

When we love ourselves, we create a foundation of inner strength and resilience that allows us to show up fully in our relationships with others. We are better able to set boundaries, communicate our needs, and make choices that align with our values and desires.

Self-love also allows us to be more compassionate and understanding towards others, as we learn to extend the same kindness and understanding that we offer ourselves to others.

The analogy that love is like space is a powerful one. Just as space is always present and never judges, love has the capacity to hold and support us no matter what we are going through. Love is a welcoming presence that is always available to us, whether we are feeling joyful, sad, angry, or anything in between.

Love is a space that allows us to be our authentic selves, free from judgment or shame. It is a space where we can grow and learn, make mistakes and be forgiven, and find comfort and solace when we need it most.

Like space, love has no limits or boundaries, and it is something that is available to all of us, regardless of our circumstances or life experiences.

Incorporating self-love into our lives is a transformative experience.

When we learn to love ourselves, we create a foundation of strength and resilience that allows us to approach life’s challenges with greater ease and grace. We become more confident, more compassionate, and more capable of creating and sustaining deep and meaningful relationships with others.

Love is that enourmously powerful force that is always present and never judges.

It is a space that welcomes us, supports us, and allows us to be our authentic selves.

When we learn to love ourselves, we create a foundation of inner strength and resilience that allows us to show up fully in our relationships with others.

So, let us all embrace the power of love, both towards ourselves and towards others, and create a world that is filled with compassion, kindness, and understanding.

Truly, the Nature of Love is to Nurture.

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