Two kinds of love

two kinds of love
There are actually more than two kinds of love, but I just want to talk about two kinds in this post.

First, there is the kind of love a parent has for a child. This love is other-centered. When a parent loves a child, that means they care about the well-being of that child, and they are committed to whatever is truly good for the child.

Second, there is the kind of love a person has for a particular food. This love is self-centered. When a person loves a food, they don't care about the well-being of the food. They only love the food for what it can do for them. It is a self-centered love.

Romantic love is some combination of the above two. In our own relationships, we all hope that there is more of the first kind than of the second kind. But we also recognize there must be some of the second kind or else we would never marry. It is hard sometimes to tell whether the person you're involved with loves you more like a child or more like food. Sometimes, though, I think we should turn our gaze inward and reflect on the nature of our own love, not just for people we might be romantically involved with, but for all of the people we call friends.