speech in english about love

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A Short Speech on Love ❤️

Love, surprisingly, has been equated with emotions. But is it all that is there to it? Emotions keep changing; don’t they? Today, you feel madly in love with someone; when the sun rises the next day you wonder where all the “love” you felt yesterday has gone; don’t you?

So love does not properly belong to the realm of emotions; though emotions do colour our love with all kinds of splashes. Then what is love?

It is basically a decision to hold the other person in the highest esteem , value him or her above all else, and cherish that person like no other and hold him or her so close and dear to one’s heart.

Love is not about getting; it is about giving. Love is not about selfishness; it is about sacrifice. Love is not about being on top of the charts; it is about humility, the willingness to serve. Love is not about bragging; it is about doing things for the other without advertising. Love is not about covering up evil; it is about being transparent and living in the light. Love is not about falsehood; it is about speaking the truth.

Love is not static; it grows. The love of a parent for a child grows along with years; the love of a husband for his wife ideally should grow along with years and vice versa. The limitless potential for growth, for discovery, for being surprised, for finding joy in little things, are all what makes love, love.

Finally, we cannot think on love without thinking of God. The well known passage in the Bible speaks about love in this compelling way: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” * Not one of us can earn this love; but each one of us can respond to it.

So love is a response as well. Wishing you an ever-increasing capacity to respond to God’s everlasting love for you, the love of the members of your family , your friends and colleagues, and all those whom you come into contact with. At times when you respond in love to hate and evil behaviour, the other is also constrained to love!

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

— 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 Bible

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Famous Speeches Sure to Inspire Your Next Declaration of Love

By Marisa Polansky and Kristine Keller

Whether it’s your new boo, your old BFF, or your tattooed barista, someone in your life is worthy of a little love. But articulating the abstract, undefinable feeling of l-o-v-e can be a pain in the . . . you know what.

We’ve worked on many beautiful speeches, but the most memorable professions of love? They don’t hold anything back. They’re honest and enthusiastic and unforgivingly passionate. So to help you express yourself like a pro, we’ve compiled a list of top speeches sure to inspire declarations of love to just about anyone in your life.   

For your significant other who supports you from afar—and with whom you wish you had more red carpet photos: Ryan Gosling wins a Golden Globe in 2017 and takes the opportunity to thank his behind-the-scenes support system, Eva Mendes. And while the rest of us might have fawned more than Mendes, it had to have made her knees at least a little weak. Gosling reminds us that when it comes to a happily ever after, it takes two. (Minutes 0:55–1:33)

   For your never-could-there-ever-be-a-smarter-cooler-stronger soulmate: The mic drop heard ’round the world. Though you’ll likely not be speaking to your sweetheart as the president of the United States, take a cue from number 44, who keeps it real in the most unreal of circumstances. In his last speech as POTUS, Obama applauds Michelle’s ability to take on the First Lady role “with grace, and with grit, and with style.” And if you’re lucky enough to find yourself a Michelle, you’ll need to deliver many speeches like this. She deserves it.

   For that person who seeks light in the darkness: At a time when the world is at risk of forgetting the importance of love, Lin-Manuel Miranda has the perfect message to remind us that, “Love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside.” His words at the 2016 Tony’s spotlight the idea that love and kindness really can conquer all. (Minutes 1:50–2:46)

By Christian Allaire

By Kate Lloyd

   For your best and oldest friend who inspires you—and looks real good in a tuxedo: Before Barack and Joe, there was Matt and Ben, whose friendship inspired bromances, matching necklaces, and a Mindy Kaling off-Broadway play. From Beantown to Tinseltown, the pair shows us how best to conquer the world with your best friend forever. Their 1997 Academy Awards speech reminds us that before Gigli and Bourne , they were just two dudes from Boston with a lot of enthusiasm for some guy named Chris Moore. (Minutes 0:45–1:52)

For all the old friends who made you a survivor: Let’s face it: Not everyone is meant to be in your life for always. But even those once-upon-a-time friends were there at a time when you needed them. Or, if you’re Beyoncé, they, ya know, helped make you Beyoncé. In the classiest speech to ever grace the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, Queen Bey thanks all the founding members of Destiny’s Child, saying their name (saying their name) before she—bonus—calls out Jay Z in the cutest shout-out ever. (Minutes 9:00–10:53)

   For the people who maybe you don’t always get along with but, hey, there’s love for them too: At the Screen Actors Guild Awards last month, Mahershala Ali proves there’s enough love to go around and that, sometimes, differences can be beautiful. Just as you’ll always have people in your life who disagree with you, you’ll always have a choice on how to react to them. So why not choose love? (From 1:00–2:00, or the whole speech)

For a parent who inspired you and put up with all your ridiculous hairdos: At the 2014 Academy Awards, Jared Leto tells the unlikely story of a young high school dropout who, against all odds, creates a happy life for her family. Spoiler alert: That girl is his mother and her child now has an Oscar. Let this speech be your inspiration when thanking Mom and Dad, whose early struggles paved the way for your achievements. (Minutes 1:36–2:24)

For all the people who make you feel seen and appreciated and validated: It’s hard to believe that a goddess like Sally Field could ever feel unlikable—and yet, her Academy Awards speech from 1985 tells otherwise. Though it’s famously misquoted as “You like me! You really like me!” the sentiment holds true. Sometimes external validation ain’t such a bad thing. This Valentine’s Day, maybe it’s your turn to do a little validating. (From 3:20–3:50)

   For the coworker you’ve thanked too silently in the past: Sometimes people need to hear your appreciation a little bit louder now. Here, Cuba Gooding Jr. accepts his 1997 Oscar by literally shouting praise to those who helped him along the way. Let this speech inspire your own standing ovation for all the coworkers who’ve helped you organize Outlook. (1:10–1:57)

   For your insanely precocious daughter who inspires your funniest one-liners: They may pick their noses in your presence. They may make you park seven blocks away when you pick them up from school. But your kids also challenge you to look at life through a different lens, making you a little wiser and, most likely, a lot funnier. At the 2009 SAG Awards, Tina Fey shows us the right way to say thank you for using all my makeup. (2:28–3:24)

Marisa Polansky and Kristine Keller are the founders of Speech Tank , a concierge speech-writing service in New York City.

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Understand This: Love is Everything. Lead With Love In Everything You Do

Understand this: love is everything. lead with love in everything you do.

LOVE is the answer, the solution, the start, the middle and the end of everything great in life.

Transcript – Understand This: LOVE is Everything. Lead With Love In Everything You Do – (Motivational Speech)

Somewhere along the way as you work hard to build a successful business, as you work hard to get ahead, as we study hard in school, as we become lost in that overwhelming drive to create something magical in our lives, as we try to fill the emptiness in our hearts with work, we forget why we’re doing it all.

Why do we work?

Why do we create? Why do we put ourselves out there? What is that burning need inside us that drives us to sacrifice everything?

What is it that pushes us to work with so much focus and persistence that we forget ourselves, our health, our wellbeing… pushing so hard that we end up sabotaging our cherished relationships that we end up missing our child’s first day at school, that we willingly give up time with loved ones?

We’re doing it all. We’re building, creating, working hard, for love. When I say love, I don’t mean romantic, steamy or sexual love. I mean pure love.

Love that you might have for a spectacular piece of artwork. Love that you might have for travel and for new adventures. Love that you might have for the quiet beauty of a snowfall. This is the love that creates. The love that inspires.

That love that we are doing it all for. It’s fascinating to see what happens when you introduce love to your work, your creation. When you let love in to everything you do, everything you do seems to be created with a little more magic. When you let love into your work, your work is better. When you let love into your business, your clients show up for you. Back you, support you, cheer you on.

When you let love in, you have endless courage, creativity, clarity and drive. Love is behind it all. Love brings out the best in you. It brings out the best in your people.

Love brings out the best in your work. In everything you do.

Apple, the electronics company decided to love their clients above all else. They would have store managers, not just assistants, call customers who needed help and spend as much time as necessary on the phone to make things right. This is an expensive thing to do, but Apple found that each hour their managers spend on the phone, an additional $1,000 in sales would be generated. Loving your customers isn’t just a good idea. It’s smart business.

Love works. Loving each other works. Loving your team works. Loving your clients works.

Sometimes it feels like the bad guys win. I know it feels like the world tells you you need to be a hard nosed, slimy asshole entrepreneur to get to the top, but that’s not true. Sooner or later, the bad guys lose. In the end love always wins. Always.

Love is why we do what we do.

You’re not doing it for the money. Ask yourself why you want the money. So you can buy that big house? Why do you want that house or the car or the recognition? Because you believe at some level you’ll be happier when you get them. You believe you will get more love when you get them. But the truth is you can lead with love now. So remember your why. Why do you want to win? Why do you want to win? What is it that really matters to you?

You might have heard of this old saying, it’s not personal. It’s business. Wrong. Business is personal. It always has been. There is no other way we could keep doing what we do. There’s no other reason to wake up every day and run your business or your life, your relationships, everything.

Let love in. Fuel everything with all the love you have. Then watch your business take off. Watch your vision and your goals come to life when your team and your clients support you with love.

Business is love. Let love in. Fuel every thing with all the love you have. Ask how you can serve, not what you can get. Create with love and service in mind and let the money chase you. Watch your vision and your goals come to life. When you lead with love, when your work is filled with your love.

When you love what you do and you do what you love, know this… understand this, embody this, live by this. It’s how you stay true to yourself. It’s how you make the impossible possible. It’s how you experience authentic success and happiness. It’s how you live big.

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Free English Lessons

Talk about love and relationships – video.

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In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about love and relationships in English.

You’ll learn how to talk about dating, getting engaged, good relationships, bad relationships and break-ups. you can see lots of useful vocabulary used in natural dialogues, and we’ll give you explanations to help you use this language clearly and naturally in your spoken english., quiz: talk about love and relationships.

Now, test your knowledge of what you learned in the lesson by trying this quiz.

You can get help with some questions if you press ‘Hint’. You will get your score at the end, when you can click on ‘View Questions’ to see all the correct answers.

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Very good! You have remembered a lot of the language from this lesson correctly. Have a look at the questions you didn’t get right, and check the video again if you need to.

An excellent score. You have understood a lot of the language for love and relationships correctly.

Congratulations! You are obviously a love and relationships expert.

1 . Question

Write one word in each gap.

In American English you might ‘ask someone on a date’, but in British English, you would ‘ them ‘.

These expressions are used right at the start of the lesson.

2 . Question

Which of these words and phrases can be used as a verb? Choose as many as you think are right.

• relationship

3 . Question

Rearrange the words into the correct order to form a question about relationships.

View Answers:

4 . Question

Which is the correct word to complete the question about relationships? Choose one option.

Are you ________ anyone at the moment?

5 . Question

Put these four sentences into chronological order:

• My sister finally got married on Saturday.
• My sister’s been engaged to her husband-to-be for over a year.
• My sister’s just got engaged.
• My sister’s been married for five years.

6 . Question

Which expression is correct?

• He proposed to her while they were on holiday.
• He proposed her while they were on holiday.
• He proposed at her while they were on holiday.
• He proposed the question while they were on holiday.

7 . Question

Write one six-letter word (a verb in the past simple) to complete the expression related to getting engaged. The verb is conversational in tone.

He the question while they were on holiday.

The correct idiom is used in part two of the lesson.

8 . Question

Complete the 15-letter word which you might say to someone who’s just got engaged.

Look at your ring! You must be engaged! C !

9 . Question

Complete the sentence with a five-letter word to give advice on how to have a good relationship:

Part of being a good couple is knowing when to give each other some .

This advice is given in part three of the lesson.

10 . Question

Which expression is the correct relationship advice? Choose one option.

• You need to make time for each other.
• You need to make each other do time.
• You need to make each other on time.
• You need to time each other making.

11 . Question

Which word is missing from this good relationship advice?

You shouldn’t take things for ________, otherwise your relationship will suffer.

12 . Question

Which is the correct option to complete this idiom about relationships? Choose one answer.

Accept that you’ll have _____ and _____; don’t expect everything to be perfect.

• ups and downs
• ins and outs
• onwards and upwards
• backwards and forwards

13 . Question

‘If you’re unhappy about something, deal with it quickly. Don’t let things fester.’

What does fester mean?

• get bigger and more serious
• get forgotten about
• get sorted out

The expression is used in part three of the lesson.

14 . Question

Write a four-letter word to complete this sentence about a couple who are having problems:

I guess things have gone a bit between them.

This is a metaphor from part four of the lesson. The literal meaning refers to milk going bad.

15 . Question

Which three-word phrase describes a couple who are having problems in their relationship? Choose one answer.

• They aren’t getting on well at all.
• They aren't getting over it at all.
• They aren't getting it out at all.
• They aren't getting into it at all.

16 . Question

Which expression means the same as ‘They’re arguing a lot’ in the context of a relationship that is not going well? Choose one answer.

• They’re disputing a lot.
• They’re boxing a lot.
• They’re fighting a lot.
• They’re punching a lot.

17 . Question

Write the two words that are missing from this expression to describe a couple who are arguing a lot:

They just aren’t seeing -to- at the moment.

The missing word is the same in both spaces.

18 . Question

Write the missing word to complete the expression which indicates the end of a relationship.

She broke with him because he didn’t seem serious enough about their relationship.

19 . Question

Which nine-letter word beginning with ‘s’ means ‘legally married but no longer in a relationship’?

20 . Question

Which expression means the same as ‘maybe they’ll work things out’?

• Maybe they'll patch things up.
• Maybe they'll break things in.
• Maybe they'll get things back.
• Maybe they'll pop things through.

1. Talking About Dating

Oli: So, your friend Claire…

Lori: Yeah?

O: She seems nice…

L: Oh, you like her?

O: Yeah, I do.

L: Aren’t you going out with that charity worker. What’s her name again?

O: Georgia? No, that’s over.

L: What happened? I liked her.

O: Sometimes things just don’t work out.

L: Let me guess, she was too clingy?

O: Yeah, how’d you know?

L: Everyone’s ‘too clingy’ for you.

O: Anyway, what about Claire? Can you put me in touch?

L: Why don’t you just ask her out yourself?

O: I don’t have her number, or any way to get in contact.

L: I think she’ll be at Sam’s housewarming party on Saturday. Maybe you should go.

O: Maybe I will!

If you’re single and you meet someone you like, what’s the next step? Of course, this is quite different in different parts of the world!

However, in many places, you can ask the other person on a date. British and American English use different words here. In British English, you say ‘ask someone out’ and ‘go out with someone’; in American English, you say ‘ask someone on a date’ and ‘go on a date with someone.’ The meanings are the same. ‘Go out with’ and ‘date’—both verbs—can also have the meaning that you’re seeing someone regularly, as girlfriend or boyfriend. However, it could also mean something less serious. For example, in the dialogue, you heard: ‘Aren’t you going out with that charity worker?’ Here, ‘go out’ doesn’t clearly mean that they’re in a couple. It could also refer to a situation where two people are meeting each other regularly, but they aren’t a serious couple.

You could use this language in other ways; for example:

• They’ve been going out for about a year now.
• She’s dating a guy I used to work with.

As you heard before, ‘go out with’ is more common in UK English, while ‘date’ is more common in US English. In these examples, the context tells you that you’re talking about more serious relationships. However, in many cases you would use these words—go out with someone, date someone—to talk about couples in the early stages of a relationship. If two people have been in a relationship for some time, you can use the term ‘be together’. For example:

• How long have you and your boyfriend been together?
• They were together for about four years, but then they broke up.

You can also use the verb ‘see’ to mean ‘have a relationship with someone’. For example:

• Are you seeing anyone at the moment?
• I’m sure he’s seeing someone, but he won’t tell me who it is.

Like ‘go out with’ or ‘date’, these sentences probably refer to the early stages of a relationship. If you’re going out with someone and everything’s going well, what next to talk about love and relationships in English?

2. Getting Engaged

Oli: Did you hear Jen’s news?

Lori: No, what?

O: She’s engaged.

L: Really? That’s great! When did it happen?

O: A couple of weeks ago. Phil proposed to her while they were on holiday in Rome.

L: How romantic! When’s the wedding?

O: I don’t think they’ve decided yet.

L: I’ll have to call her to say congratulations. Did she have a ring?

O: Maybe. I didn’t notice.

L: You’re useless!

Here’s a question: can you complete this missing word from the dialogue? It means: the situation before two people get married.

• get e—–d

The word is ‘engaged’. Be careful with ‘get engaged’ and ‘be engaged’. Do you know the difference? ‘Get engaged’ is an action. When you first agree to get married, you get engaged. After you get engaged, you *are* engaged. ‘Be engaged’ is a state. For example:

• They got engaged in June, and got married in July.
• They’ve been engaged for two years now. They say they’re too busy to plan a wedding!

There’s a similar difference between ‘get married’ and ‘be married’. Learn more about ‘get’ with this lesson from Oxford Online English on how to use have and get .

Next question! Before you get engaged, one person has to ask the other to get married. Can you complete this sentence from the dialogue?

• Phil p——d to her while they were on holiday.

Do you remember? The verb is ‘propose’. Colloquially , you can also say ‘pop the question’ which has the same meaning. For example:

• He popped the question while they were on holiday.

These are conversational responses and phrases, so if you’re not sure, use ‘propose’. Let’s do two more. Can you complete the sentences from the dialogue?

• I’ll have to call her to say —————-
• Did she have a —-?

Do you remember the answers?

• I’ll have to call her to say congratulations.
• Did she have a ring?

The full term is ‘engagement ring’. However, in this context, it’s clear what she meant.

Now, do you know any couples that have a really good marriage? That’s our next topic!

3. Talking About Good Relationships

Oli: How long have you been married now?

Lori: Ooh… Almost ten years.

O: That’s a long time! No regrets?

L: No! There are ups and downs, of course, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

O: You two seem like a really good couple.

L: Yeah, it works well. Of course, part of being a good couple is knowing when to give each other some space.

O: That’s true.

L: I see a lot of couples who move in together, and they give up all of the things which make them individuals. We spend a lot of time together, but we have our own friends, our own hobbies, and so on.

O: Sure, I mean, you don’t want to be *too* dependent on each other.

L: Absolutely. Although, you need to strike a balance. You need to make time for each other, too.

O: Of course. I imagine that it can be easy to let things slip when you’ve been together so long.

L: Yeah, it’s dangerous, actually.

You can’t take things for granted, otherwise your relationship will suffer. If two people go well together, you can say they’re a good couple. You could also say ‘a great couple’, or ‘a perfect couple’. What do you think makes two people a good couple?

In the dialogue, you heard these:

• Part of being a good couple is knowing when to give each other some space.
• You can’t take things for granted, otherwise your relationship will suffer.

Do you know what ‘take things for granted’ means? If you take something for granted, you’ve had something for a long time and you get used to it. Then, you don’t appreciate it any more. For example, imagine you eat in an amazing restaurant. The food is incredible, and you have a great time. Now, imagine you eat in the same restaurant every night for a year. Will you still appreciate it? Probably not. You’ll get bored of it, and it won’t be special any more. You’ll take it for granted.

What do you think? Do you agree with these ideas? Could you add any more suggestions for a successful relationship? Of course, there are many ideas! Here are three more:

• The most important thing is to listen to each other.
• Accept that you’ll have ups and downs; don’t expect everything to be perfect.
• If you’re unhappy about something, deal with it quickly. Don’t let things fester.

‘Fester’ here means that you don’t deal with a problem, so it becomes bigger and more serious as time goes by.

Of course, not all relationships go perfectly. Next, let’s see how you can talk about relationship problems with love and relationships in English.

4. Relationship Problems

Lori: Have you seen Sasha lately?

Oli: Yeah, we met for a beer the other evening.

L: How’s he doing? I haven’t seen him for ages.

O: Not so well. It seems like he and Maria are having a difficult time.

L: Really? I remember seeing them together in the summer, and they seemed like the perfect match.

O: I guess things have gone a bit sour since then. From what he said, they aren’t getting on well at all, so they’re fighting all the time. He didn’t seem happy.

L: What’s he going to do?

O: He wasn’t sure.

L: Do they live together?

L: That complicates things…

O: It does. Maybe they’ll work things out. You should call him. He’d be glad to hear from you.

L: Mmm… I’ll give him a call tonight.

Look at three sentences from the dialogue. Can you explain what they mean?

• He and Maria are having a difficult time.
• I guess things have gone a bit sour since then.

If a couple are having a difficult time, it means they’re having some relationship problems. You can also say ‘have problems’. For example: ‘He and Maria are having problems.’

‘ Go sour ’ is an idiom. Here, it means that things were fine in the past, but now they’re not. Literally, ‘go sour’ is used with milk and other dairy products. If you keep milk for too long, it’ll go sour, and then it smells bad and you shouldn’t drink it. Here, you’re using ‘go sour’ metaphorically.

Lastly, ‘they aren’t getting on well at all’ means that they have a lot of conflict. You might also say something like:

• They’re fighting all the time.
• They’re arguing a lot.
• They just aren’t seeing eye-to-eye at the moment.

‘Seeing eye-to-eye’ is another idiom. If you see eye-to-eye with someone, you understand each other and you have a good relationship. You can use this in other contexts, not just to talk about romantic relationships.

Finally, let’s talk about what happens when relationships end.

5. Divorces and Break-Ups

Lori: Are we still doing movie night at yours tonight?

Oli: Ah… Maybe not. My friend Jon is staying. It’s a bit of a messy situation—he left his wife, and I think it’s for good.

L: Poor guy! That must be tough.

O: Well… don’t feel too sorry for him. He was cheating all over the place, and it was his decision to walk out.

L: OK then, poor wife! Soon to be ex-wife, I suppose…

O: Probably. They’re that kind of couple, though: they break up, get back together, break up again… This time, though, I don’t see how they can patch things up.

L: Yeah… I don’t know them, but I don’t think I could stay with someone who cheated on me. It’s too big a betrayal.

O: I agree. I guess it’s for them to deal with. Anyway, I was going to ask: can we do the movie night at yours instead? Please say yes; I’ve already told everyone that it’s at your house.

L: Yeah, sure!

When you’re talking about the end of a relationship, you need different words depending on whether the couple you’re talking about is married or not. For an unmarried couple, you mostly use ‘break up’. ‘Break up’ can be an intransitive verb—used without an object—or you can break up *with* someone. For example:

• They broke up about six months ago.
• She broke up with him because he didn’t seem serious enough about their relationship.

For a married couple, you can use the verb ‘separate’, meaning that the two people are still legally married, but they aren’t in a relationship any more. Then, you can use the phrases ‘get divorced’ and ‘be divorced’, in the same way as you can use ‘get married’ and ‘be married’. For example:

• They’ve been living apart for ages, and they finally got divorced last year.
• She’s divorced. She left her husband last year.

You can also use the verb phrase ‘leave someone’. This is more common with married couples, but you could use it for unmarried couples, too. Look at three more sentences which you heard in this dialogue, and one from the last section.

• Maybe they’ll work things out.
• I don’t see how they can patch things up.
• They break up, get back together, break up again…

Do you know what these sentences mean?

‘Work things out’ is a general phrase, but if you’re talking about a relationship, it means that two people find a way to solve their problems, or at least to accept them.

‘Patch things up’ is a has the idea of repairing or fixing something. If a couple have a big fight, or if one person does something bad to the other, they might need to patch things up, meaning they try to make things better again.

Some couples might break up, and then get back together again. You can use ‘get together’ to talk about a couple starting a relationship, but ‘get back together’ has a different meaning; it means that two people are going back to a relationship which ended previously.

That’s everything. Hope you learned some useful phrases to talk about love and relationships in English! Thanks for watching!

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Three Powerful Lessons About Love

It’s been 20 years since daniel jones started modern love as a weekly column in the new york times. today, he shares what the job has taught him about love..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

Love now and always.

Did you fall in love?

Just tell her I love her.

Love is stronger than anything you can feel.

For the love.

And I love you more than anything.

(SINGING) What is love?

Here’s to love.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Anna Martin. This is “Modern Love.” This year marks the 20th anniversary of the “Modern Love” column. 20 years — can you believe that? Two decades of essays that have made us laugh, made us gasp, broken our hearts, reminded us of the fundamental goodness of people. And let’s be honest — a lot of these essays should come with tissues. It’s kind of our thing here, making you cry.

To mark this big anniversary, we’ve got a conversation with “Modern Love” founder Daniel Jones. Dan has edited around 1,000 essays since the first one ran back in 2004. And when you spend all your professional time contemplating human connection, that work doesn’t stay at the office. It impacts you in profound ways. So, today, Dan shares the three essays that have changed the way he approaches love and relationships in his own life. And at the end of the show, stay tuned for a very exciting announcement about the rest of our season.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So, it feels strange to say what I say to guests on the show, which is welcome, because, really, you welcomed me into this universe. So instead of saying welcome, I’m going to say, Dan Jones, hello, and thank you so much.

It is great to be back here.

The “Modern Love” column has been around for almost 20 years, which is a long time. And I do not say this in a rude way, but that also means that you are 20 years older than you were when you started it. Is there anything that’s happened in your life over those two decades that has changed your approach to the work or reframed it in some way?

I’ve gone from being young to less young over that time.

Delicately put.

I started the column with children who are now very much adults and have gone through their own breakups and traumas and all of that and got out into the world and gotten jobs. My marriage of 29 years came to an amicable end. My father died two months ago, and there’s been a lot of tough family time since then. But I feel like my life was pretty stable during the family child rearing years. And then, oddly timed to the pandemic, I have to say — [LAUGHS]

As happened to many, yeah.

It just like opened up, and it was like the column was saying to me, OK, you’re going to experience the whole range of what you’ve been putting out there. And interestingly enough, I feel like working on the column for all these years has given me sort of touchstones and tools — and not just for me, for other people, too — to be able to navigate difficult times in life. It feels like this churning reservoir of human experience that sort of feeds into your veins if you are open to it.

I love what you said that you gave so much to the column. And now you’re in this place in your career and your life where it’s giving back to you. I mean, what a —

It’s like an annuity program.

It’s like — yeah, it’s like a 401(k). [LAUGHS]

Right, right. Exactly.

It’s like a Roth IRA.

It’s the “Modern Love” 401(k).

That’s a sexy way to say it, right?

You know? I’m withdrawing. I’m getting close to the age where I’m going to be forced to withdraw. So, it’s a good thing.

People are loving this metaphor. OK, so that’s where you are now, but when you were starting the column, did you see yourself as an expert in relationships or in romance?

I wasn’t great at romantic relationships. I was like, how does this work? How does this work? I was really terrible at it in high school. I was really terrible at it in college. I still found it really hard. My first girlfriend in grad school.

Took you a while.

But very slow learning, very shy. But I think just the weightiness of romantic relationships is a scary thing.

And I wasn’t paralyzed with fear or anything. Like, I just — I assumed I’d get married and have a family. Like all those things were just assumptions and didn’t seem all that hard to make happen, in a way. But the complications of relationships and loss and just all those big things, I felt like those were things that happened to somebody else. Those were out there and were these deep, dark wells that I hadn’t really experienced and didn’t have a sense of how to navigate.

Hmm. How did the people in your life react when you told them like, hey, I got a new gig. I will be covering love and relationships at “The New York Times.” How did people react?

Some people were just — they were surprised that that would be my subject and that would be my beat, in a way. To me, I don’t think of love and relationships as being a beat. I think of it as being like the center of all life. It’s like, it’s not off to the side.

Say that, mm-hmm.

It’s the center of things. Honestly, I don’t like the word “romance.” It just feels like shallow and —

— schlocky and whatever. But the word “love” has it all. It’s like that’s the core of human existence, it seems to me. It’s the stuff of life and loss and death and yearning and dreaming and all of that stuff.

Mm. Have you come to that understanding of these stories about love are really stories about life? Did you enter into the column, the early days of this column, with that understanding, or has that been worked out over 20 years of editing these pieces?

We started that way a little intentionally. We made it clear that the stories were not just about romantic relationships. It was family relationships and friendships and parenthood and the whole sort of gamut of human love and bonds. And in coming up with a title, “Modern Love,” we wanted an umbrella that was sort of wide enough to encompass love.

And the “modern” part of it could mean a lot of things. To me, it meant something that was contemporary, like a way we connect that we didn’t use to, the way we use technology, the way we have children that we didn’t use to, all of those ways that are now. And we just thought “modern” would cover that piece of it.

OK, so, another big part of the column is that it’s totally based on reader submissions, meaning anyone can send in their idea for a story, and you select the ones you want to edit and then publish. Why did you go with that submission model, as opposed to commissioning stories from famous writers or other well-known people?

I just thought, let’s just open the floodgates and see what comes in. I didn’t realize at the time what a great idea that was because —

[LAUGHS]: I realized later, I’m a genius.

I’m a frickin’ genius for coming up with that, but not like it’s any kind of new idea. But for this kind of a forum, it was essential. And as an example, just a few weeks ago, we published a story by a Bangladeshi immigrant who’d been a taxi driver in New York, in an arranged marriage from Bangladesh. Had won the visa lottery and moved here, and they settled in Queens. They had a daughter. She became a doctor.

And I asked him, what made you write this story, your love story from 30 years ago and bringing it up to now? What made you submit it? And he said, oh, I’ve been reading “Modern Love” for 20 years.

You know? I’m reading it every week. And he wasn’t a writer. He’d just been reading the column and thought —

— I have a story. All these people who have stories, they read stories, they think, what about my story? And that’s something I was late in realizing, that it was just — it had drawn stories out of people who otherwise would not have told them. It felt a safe space for them. They thought, well, other people have done it.

So I could do it, too.

When we come back, Dan chooses the three essays that taught him the most about love, with a little help from Jake Gyllenhaal and Connie Britton. Stay with us.

All right, so, Dan, can you please kick us off with the first essay you want to talk about?

Yeah, so this is an essay. It’s called “One Bouquet of Fleeting Beauty, Please.” And the writer is named Alisha Gorder. And this is a story that begins with a young woman working in a flower shop describing the kinds of customers who come in, the kinds of flower bouquets that they’d buy and for what reason. And you think you’re in this light, airy story about a flower shop.

And then about halfway through, it takes a plunge into this really troubling backstory where her high school boyfriend had died by suicide at age 18, and it throws what she’s talking about and the flower shop into a whole new context. And in the end, it turns into a meditation of why flowers, why are these the things that people rely on for these important transitions and moments in life, and comes to a wisdom at the end that has just stayed with me ever since.

And longtime listeners will remember that this essay was featured on the podcast years ago, back when we had celebrities and voice actors read the essays. Let’s hear a part of this one performed, I think, really tenderly by the actor, Kerry Bishé.

There’s a picture I took of him just days before I left for college, two months before he died. It was the summer of chips and guacamole dinners we shared, sitting on the living room floor. He’s standing in the kitchen wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, one perfect half of an avocado cradled in his hand. His face is turned away, hidden from the camera, but I like to think he’s smiling.

I remember the song we were listening to, the chatter of frogs through the screen door, my bare feet on wood. Precious moments made all the more precious by the fact that they have already come and gone.

Now I measure months by what’s in season — sunflowers in July, dahlias in August, rose hips and maple in October, pine in December, hyacinth in March, crowdpleasing peonies in May.

A favorite of mine is tulip magnolia, the way the buds erupt into blooms and the blooms into a litter of color on lawns, all in a matter of weeks while it’s snowing cherry blossoms. How startlingly beautiful impermanence can be.

You said that it’s that ending and, in fact, it’s that final line that really speaks to you. Can you tell me what you learn or take away from that line?

It’s sort of grown on me how startlingly beautiful impermanence can be. It’s not that love or connection is beautiful and impermanent. It’s beautiful because it’s impermanent.

And the fleeting nature of any connection is what makes it precious and what makes it beautiful. And the way that she saw this in petals on the ground that are soon to dry up and go away, but the beauty is in that it won’t last.

I mean, there’s this section, I think, a little bit earlier than that when she even poses the question quite directly, like, why flowers? Why do we give these things that are going to shrivel and die?

Just to throw away, yeah.

And I love what you’re saying. It’s not despite the impermanence. It’s really loving because of it, because our time is —

Mm-hmm. That is the arc of life. It’s shortened with flower blossoms, but that is it. It sometimes lasts a long time, sometimes a short time. But it will always feel fleeting in a way, that level of beauty.

What does this essay make you think about in terms of your own life or your own relationships?

To me, it’s about — I mean, it’s a buzzword we always hear about, but here, it really comes home to roost, is presence, is being present. And it’s always the hardest thing, for me, for a lot of people, appreciating what you have now, and not thinking about what you’re building toward and what you’re accumulating wealth for and what’s to come, but the connections you have now that are beautiful in the moment, and not fearing that you’re going to lose them — because you are. That’s a certainty.

But just being able to be present and appreciate them and the fact that it’s this young woman who was able to artfully, in the midst of grief, compose such a beautiful piece that teaches that is just miraculous to me.

I mean, you mentioned earlier that your dad recently passed. Did you return to this essay then? Was it in the back of your mind as you were processing all that?

It must have been because I was scrolling through the archive and saw that illustration and clicked on it. And I did see it in a new way. I remembered how much I appreciated it at the time, but I was able to hold it together here. But when I read it aloud to a friend who obviously was sitting there when I was rereading it, I couldn’t get through the final lines. I was really broken up by it.

It sounds like this piece resonated with you and spoke to you in a different way years later, which is really powerful. Do you want to talk about the next essay?

Yeah, so this one is called “Nursing a Wound in an Appropriate Setting.” It’s written by Thomas Hooven, who is a doctor. He’s not a writer. But you would never know that —

No, you would not.

— from reading this incredible essay. And I think about this essay all the time. This was published in 2013. He describes his relationship with his longtime girlfriend before he goes to medical school. They knew each other for 12 years. They were both the children of divorce and of unstable households that were scary. And they gave each other a sense of safety. He describes their relationship as being no fighting. Fighting was what their parents did.

Fighting would threaten their equilibrium, yeah.

Fighting would threaten their love. And so, it was a sort of a flat, safe relationship. They were together for 12 years. They got engaged. He was about to head off to medical school. And then, she abruptly broke up with him. I think there were only a few weeks from their marriage —

— from their wedding.

Three weeks.

Three weeks, OK.

And he was just — devastated doesn’t begin to describe it. And he goes off to medical school or his residency, and it’s sort of his boot camp in feelings and complications and devastation and real life, like real life. And then after this sort of time in the wilderness in his residency and going through all this, he learns what real love is.

Yeah, I mean, his idea of what real love is at the end of the essay is so powerful. This essay was also featured on an early season of the podcast. So here’s Jake Gyllenhaal reading Thomas Hooven’s essay, “Nursing a Wound in an Appropriate Setting.”

Yeah, this one is so great.

My ex and I are not in touch. Our relationship, so long in the making and so quick to end, was like an ornamental piece of crystal. Aesthetically pleasing but lacking resilience and, once shattered, irrecoverable.

Looking back at the various romantic and not so romantic dating experiences I had afterwards, it’s hard to separate my growth as an emotionally conversant partner from my development as a capable physician. Both happened simultaneously and gradually through stretches of triumph and sorrow. There were no Eureka moments, and neither ever really ended.

The turmoil I experienced as an intern left me with a deeper understanding of how pain works, how it feels, how it ebbs, and how it leaves you less naive. I also learned to open up to important facets of life that my previous relationship had locked out — unhappiness, uncertainty, and regret. Comfort around feelings like these is crucial in both medicine and intimate relationships. It’s the basis of empathy.

I didn’t understand that before my ex left me, and I learned it the hard way.

By the time I met my wife, I was a changed man and a real doctor. And our love developed differently from any I had ever experienced before. Less like a crystal vase, more like a basketball, our relationship is made for bouncing, for good and sometimes rough play that modern professional lives generate. We do have fights — oh, yes, we do. But they do not threaten our foundation — they deepen it.

Tell me what you take away about Thomas’s articulation of what real love is. What is he saying?

Well, this is one of these essays that I feel like mirrored my experience in a way. Like, I didn’t come from a family of turmoil. But I’m afraid of conflict, total fear of conflict. Don’t like to fight, don’t like to argue. My idea of a successful, romantic, loving relationship was being in a harmonious space all the time — or not all the time. Sometimes you’d be bored, but you wouldn’t be fighting.

And so, this idea that fighting can bring you closer is revolutionary to me. It still is revolutionary to me. And not only that it can bring you closer, but it’s the only thing to bring you closer and the only thing to deepen your relationship.

Fighting can lead to end a relationship definitely, but the only way forward and the only way deeper is through conflict and resolving conflicts to a new understanding of the relationship and who you’re with and the person you’re with and getting to know them better and all of that. And I don’t know what business he has writing this well about —

You’re like, listen —

It’s not fair to be like a doctor —

— you’re already a doctor.

— and — I know, and also to be able to write this well about and understand love this well and loss and conflict and depth. It’s remarkable.

Mm. So are you like fighting all the time now?

I still need to learn how to fight better.

Let’s talk about the final essay. This is an essay by Elizabeth Fitzsimmons. It’s called “My First Lesson in Motherhood.” Can you tell me what that essay’s about?

Yeah, so this is a piece that ran on Mother’s Day way back in 2007. And it’s yet another one that takes a really dramatic turn — several dramatic turns. And it’s an essay about bravery when you didn’t think you had the capacity for it. It’s a couple who are having trouble getting pregnant and decide to adopt a baby girl in China. And they specifically fill out forms saying, we’re new parents. We don’t want any disabilities. We can’t deal with anything, basically, except for just a perfect, little, healthy baby.

And they get a baby who’s chosen for them. By the time they get there and meet with the baby and are alone with her for the first time, they discover alarming physical problems, a really bad rash and a scar at the base of her spine and hear a horrifying diagnosis that the child will be paralyzed from the waist down, will be incontinent, will have serious, serious problems. And unbelievably, they talk to the agents from the adoption agency, and they say, oh, well, we’re sorry about this, and essentially offer a swap for a different baby.

Yeah, that’s a moment that is kind of unbelievable in this piece.

The view of human life in that circumstance.

So this essay was read by the actress Connie Britton in 2016. And you can just hear the emotional stakes of this story in her performance. Let’s listen to it.

Yeah, she’s really perfect for this one.

I pictured myself boarding the plane with some faceless replacement child and then explaining to friends and family that she wasn’t Natalie, that we had left Natalie in China because she was too damaged, that the deal had been a healthy baby, and she wasn’t. How could I face myself? How could I ever forget? I would always wonder what happened to Natalie.

I knew this was my test, my life’s worth distilled into a moment. I was shaking my head no before they finished explaining. We didn’t want another baby, I told them. We wanted our baby, the one sleeping right over there. She’s our daughter, I said. We love her. Yet we had a long, fraught night ahead, wondering how we would possibly cope. I called my mother in tears and told her the news.

There was a long pause.

Oh, honey. I sobbed. She waited until I caught my breath. It would be OK if you came home without her. Why are you saying that? I just want to absolve you. What do you want to do? I want to take my baby and get out of here, I said. Good, my mother said. Then that’s what you should do.

I mean, I’m tearing up.

Me, too. So, the lesson in this piece to me is sort of about a test. It’s really a test. It’s like, what are you capable of? What kind of devotion, what kind of sense of responsibility, what are you going to take on? And they have to decide in the moment, are they going to stick with this child with this horrifying set of health complications that could control their lives forever? Are they going to push that baby aside and accept a healthier baby? And then, how do they live with themselves if they do that? Neither choice is an appealing choice.

No. This essay — I mean, all of these essays bowled me over, and this one just made me — I mean, I quite literally called my mom after this. It is such a moving testament to just the completely inexplicable, immediate bond between parent and child. Yeah, I’m still kind of crying. I mean, it’s just — it’s remarkable. Tell me what you’re taking. I mean, you are a parent. Like, tell me what you’re thinking about when you read this essay.

Well, first of all, I’m thinking — I think anyone reading this thinks, what choice would I have made?

And you would like to think that you would make the choice of keeping the child. But honestly, one of the most moving things and tragic things that happened in the wake of publishing this essay is, we got emails from people who’d faced this choice and —

— made the opposite choice and either left with a healthy baby and struggled, and struggled, and struggled with having done that. More common was giving up on adoption entirely and just walking away, and walking away from that child or any child. But she’s just like, I’m going to walk into this. Like, I’m going to just walk forward into this, and it’s going to be what it’s going to be. And miracle of miracles — like, within a year or so, all that stuff has gone away. They see a specialist —

I know. The kid is fine. I’m going to cry again. It’s like, after making this decision, they go home, and she heals. Oh!

Yeah, and she recoiled at thinking that was a reward for making the right choice. Like, she said, it’s not about that. It’s not about we were generous or we were good, and therefore, our child turned out fine. It’s not that at all. It just happened that way. But it’s yet another lesson in you can’t predict a smooth path. You just have to walk forward and be brave.

I often say with “Modern Love” stories that are really about choices and hard choices and how it’s sort of ordinary people being incredibly brave, I mean, I often wonder, what creates the person who can make the brave choice versus the person who shrinks from it. Like, what is that magic sauce? Or what is that childhood experience or what is the parenting that they have?

Because there is a divide. Like, there is a divide often in those circumstances that we saw in the outpouring after the essay.

We see instances of bravery in all three of the essays that you’ve shared today — bravery to embrace the brevity of love, bravery to engage in fighting in a relationship, bravery to make a choice. Would you define bravery as like a core act of love?

Yeah, a core act of love and a core act of life. People’s bravery has been my biggest takeaway over 20 years of doing this work. It’s never a person who says, I am brave. It’s almost the opposite. It’s people who say, I’m not brave. I’m a coward. And yet —

And the lesson, just sort of the lesson of that, life, it’s going to be a mess one way or the other. You just sort choose your mess. But that is what it is. That is life. You’re not going to avoid it. There’s such a school of life that is about trying to make your life as clean and tidy as possible. And it’s really a struggle to do that. And I’m not sure it’s well-directed energy.

What do you think we should direct our energy to? And now this is just truly me asking you because I want you to give me life advice. If not to cleaning up our life —

I’m not an advice giver, Anna.

I know, but just please —

You know that.

— put on the hat for one second. Like, if not to direct our energy towards cleaning up our life in your 20 years of doing this work, like, what is the more worthwhile thing to direct energy towards?

This is not exactly new advice, but it’s really the wisdom from Alisha Gorder’s essay, which is be in the moment. Value the people you’re with now. Don’t think I’m planning for 10 years from now. Get your 401(k) out of your mind. Contribute to it, but put it out of your mind. It’s the now. It’s the now that is the work.

Dan, I love that. It’s the now. I feel like so many listeners right now are clinging to every word you’ve said, trying to figure out what you’re looking for in a “Modern Love” essay pitch. And by the way, you can send those submissions to [email protected]. Dan, can you give us a few quick tips on what makes a story stand out in your inbox?

Well, a bad subject line is “Modern Love submission.”

You’re like 80 percent of people who submit. And a good subject line would include an attempt at a title, which would be like, “Please, Lord, let him be 27.”

Please Lord.

I read that — yeah, I read that subject line. It was funny. It was smart. It was vulnerable. I just prayed the essay would deliver on that promise.

And it did deliver. We actually featured it on the podcast a few seasons ago. So, a good subject line is very practical advice, but what about the essence of a story? Like, what are you looking for there?

A harder to define quality is a sense of humility. Like, there’s a sense that you’re not the smartest person in the world, but you do have something to offer. And in the world of pitching and of trying to get published, there’s an overriding sense that you have to act confident. You have to sell your product. You have to say, this essay is going to be perfect for you.

And that’s just the wrong approach. That kind of confidence is not what a hard experience leaves you with. It can leave you shaken. It can leave you wise. But it doesn’t leave you cocky. And I think it’s important that the stories aren’t really about answers. They’re about a search for answers. And they don’t need to come to a conclusion. But they need to present a problem in an interesting way that makes you think about it.

Well, now you’re going to get even more submissions that can fuel the next 20 years of “Modern Love.” Dan, thank you so much for the conversation today.

Thanks, Anna. It was a lot of fun.

So, listeners, at the beginning of this episode, I told you we have an announcement about the rest of our season. In honor of 20 years of “Modern Love,” we’re launching a special series that’s really an ode to the early years of the podcast that so many of you love so much.

Starting next week, our favorite actors, musicians, writers, and artists will read hand-picked essays from the “Modern Love” archive, and we’ll talk with them about how those essays relate to their life and their work. We’ve got a truly incredible lineup that we can’t wait to share with you. So, happy anniversary, “Modern Love” listeners. We are so excited for this season-long celebration. See you next week.

“Modern Love” is produced by Julia Botero, Christina Djossa, Reva Goldberg, and Emily Lang. It’s edited by Jen Poyant and Paula Szuchman. Our executive producer is Jen Poyant. This episode was mixed by Daniel Ramirez. Our show was recorded by Maddy Masiello.

The “Modern Love” theme music is by Dan Powell. Digital production by Mahima Chablani and Nell Gallogly. Special thanks to Larissa Anderson, Kate LoPresti, Davis Land, and Lisa Tobin. The “Modern Love” column is edited by Daniel Jones. Miya Lee is the editor of “Modern Love” projects. I’m Anna Martin. Thanks for listening.

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• March 13, 2024   •   32:32 Brittany Howard Sings Through the Pangs of New Love
• March 6, 2024   •   33:21 Novelist Celeste Ng on the Big Power of Little Things
• February 28, 2024   •   37:46 Three Powerful Lessons About Love
• February 23, 2024   •   33:45 Modern Love at the Movies: Our Favorite Oscar-Worthy Love Stories
• February 21, 2024   •   25:21 A Politics Reporter Walks Into a Singles Mixer
• February 14, 2024   •   28:39 Un-Marry Me!
• December 6, 2023   •   29:18 I Married My Subway Crush
• November 29, 2023   •   34:56 Our 34-Year Age Gap Didn’t Matter, Until It Did
• November 22, 2023   •   25:22 Two Boys on Bikes, Falling in Love
• November 15, 2023   •   30:43 He Cared About Me, So I Broke Up With Him

Hosted by Anna Martin

Produced by Julia Botero ,  Christina Djossa ,  Reva Goldberg and Emily Lang

Engineered by Daniel Ramirez

Original music by Dan Powell

Featuring Daniel Jones

Edited by Paula Szuchman and Jen Poyant

Listen and follow Modern Love Apple Podcasts | Spotify

‘working on the column for all these years has given me touchstones and tools to be able to navigate difficult times in life. it feels like a churning reservoir of human experience that feeds into your veins if you are open to it.’.

When Daniel Jones started the Modern Love column in 2004, he opened the call for submissions and hoped the idea would catch on. Twenty years later, over a thousand Modern Love essays have been published in The New York Times, and the column is a trove of real-life love stories.

Dan has put so much of himself into editing the column over the years, but as he tells our host, Anna Martin, the column has influenced him, too. Today, Dan shares three Modern Love essays that have changed the way he thinks about love and relationships in his own life.

Also, Anna announces the beginning of a special series of episodes celebrating Modern Love’s 20th anniversary.

Links to transcripts of episodes generally appear on these pages within a week.

Modern Love is hosted by Anna Martin and produced by Julia Botero, Christina Djossa, Reva Goldberg and Emily Lang. The show is edited by Paula Szuchman and Jen Poyant, our executive producer. The show is mixed by Daniel Ramirez and recorded by Maddy Masiello. It features original music by Dan Powell. Our theme music is by Dan Powell.

Special thanks to Larissa Anderson, Kate LoPresti, Davis Land, Lisa Tobin, Daniel Jones, Miya Lee, Mahima Chablani, Nell Gallogly, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Nina Lassam and Julia Simon.

Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] . Want more from Modern Love ? Read past stories . Watch the TV series and sign up for the newsletter . We also have swag at the NYT Store and two books, “ Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption ” and “ Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less .”

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Essay on Love for Students and Children

500+ words essay on love.

Love is the most significant thing in human’s life. Each science and every single literature masterwork will tell you about it. Humans are also social animals. We lived for centuries with this way of life, we were depended on one another to tell us how our clothes fit us, how our body is whether healthy or emaciated. All these we get the honest opinions of those who love us, those who care for us and makes our happiness paramount.

What is Love?

Love is a set of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs with strong feelings of affection. So, for example, a person might say he or she loves his or her dog, loves freedom, or loves God. The concept of love may become an unimaginable thing and also it may happen to each person in a particular way.

Love has a variety of feelings, emotions, and attitude. For someone love is more than just being interested physically in another one, rather it is an emotional attachment. We can say love is more of a feeling that a person feels for another person. Therefore, the basic meaning of love is to feel more than liking towards someone.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Need of Love

We know that the desire to love and care for others is a hard-wired and deep-hearted because the fulfillment of this wish increases the happiness level. Expressing love for others benefits not just the recipient of affection, but also the person who delivers it. The need to be loved can be considered as one of our most basic and fundamental needs.

One of the forms that this need can take is contact comfort. It is the desire to be held and touched. So there are many experiments showing that babies who are not having contact comfort, especially during the first six months, grow up to be psychologically damaged.

Significance of Love

Love is as critical for the mind and body of a human being as oxygen. Therefore, the more connected you are, the healthier you will be physically as well as emotionally. It is also true that the less love you have, the level of depression will be more in your life. So, we can say that love is probably the best antidepressant.

It is also a fact that the most depressed people don’t love themselves and they do not feel loved by others. They also become self-focused and hence making themselves less attractive to others.

Society and Love

It is a scientific fact that society functions better when there is a certain sense of community. Compassion and love are the glue for society. Hence without it, there is no feeling of togetherness for further evolution and progress. Love , compassion, trust and caring we can say that these are the building blocks of relationships and society.

Relationship and Love

A relationship is comprised of many things such as friendship , sexual attraction , intellectual compatibility, and finally love. Love is the binding element that keeps a relationship strong and solid. But how do you know if you are in love in true sense? Here are some symptoms that the emotion you are feeling is healthy, life-enhancing love.

Love is the Greatest Wealth in Life

Love is the greatest wealth in life because we buy things we love for our happiness. For example, we build our dream house and purchase a favorite car to attract love. Being loved in a remote environment is a better experience than been hated even in the most advanced environment.

Love or Money

Love should be given more importance than money as love is always everlasting. Money is important to live, but having a true companion you can always trust should come before that. If you love each other, you will both work hard to help each other live an amazing life together.

Love has been a vital reason we do most things in our life. Before we could know ourselves, we got showered by it from our close relatives like mothers , fathers , siblings, etc. Thus love is a unique gift for shaping us and our life. Therefore, we can say that love is a basic need of life. It plays a vital role in our life, society, and relation. It gives us energy and motivation in a difficult time. Finally, we can say that it is greater than any other thing in life.

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30 English Proverbs About Love To Express What’s in Your Heart

Sometimes, the only way to express a feeling, extend a piece of advice or state a truth is through the use of an age-old proverb.

While there are hundreds of English proverbs, knowing a few English proverbs about love is an easy way to impress a native English speaker that you might be fond of or in love with. There are also plenty of English proverbs about self-love, family love and lost love.

As a wise English proverb so simply states, “never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Today, you will learn 30 English proverbs about love!

What Are English Proverbs?

The difference between proverbs, idioms and expressions, proverbs about love are universal, speak from the heart with these 30 english proverbs about love, affectionate love, 1. the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach., 2. there is no difference between a wise man and a fool when they fall in love., 3. absence makes the heart grow fonder., 4. two shorten the road., 5. opposites attract., 6. beauty is in the eye of the beholder., 7. the heart wants what it wants., unconditional love, 8. love is blind., 9. all you need is love., 10. love conquers all., 11. love will find a way., 12. love makes the world go ’round., 13. love knows no bounds., familial love, 14. blood is thicker than water., 15. home is where the heart is., 16. you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family., 17. that’s a face only a mother could love., 18. tough love., 19. happy wife, happy life., 19. you can’t love until you love yourself., 20. love yourself or no one else will., 21. wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are., 22. lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself., 23. love thyself., 24. trust me, but look to thyself., 25. all is fair in love and war., 26. love hurts., 27. there are plenty more fish in the sea., 28. if you love someone, let them go. if they come back to you, they were really yours., 29. hell hath no fury like a woman scorned., 30. time heals all wounds., tips for memorizing english proverbs about love, try spaced repetition, watch love-related videos, build a memory palace, and one more thing....

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English proverbs are catchy sayings that state a truth or give advice.

They are generally used when speaking, and many come from old literature, songs, specific moments in history or from great philosophers and great great-great-grandparents. Often, there is a literal meaning and a figurative (not literal) meaning of each proverb. The figurative meaning is what really makes it a proverb, though.

An example of this is the American proverb : “Strike while the iron is hot.” This saying literally came from blacksmiths (metalworkers) who were referring to hitting the iron with the hammer as soon as it became red hot. The figurative meaning translates to: “Seize opportunities as they arise.”

Most native English speakers know at least a few proverbs. And, having a few of these in your back pocket will make you sound like a real English speaking pro.

When learning new languages, idioms can be mistaken for proverbs since they are both short and relatively well-known sayings that are both commonly used in the spoken word.

However,  English idioms differ in that they are not complete sentences and the literal meaning does not often make much sense. An example of an idiom would be “a dime a dozen” (something or someone very common) or “beat around the bush” (to avoid or delay talking about or dealing with something).

Finally, an expression is a commonly used phrase by English speakers. Unlike an idiom, an expression is generally understood from the words used. Expressions are more general and there are often many expressions to say the same thing.

Proverbs are found in every language and culture . There are many proverbs from other languages that have been translated into English and are now commonly-heard English proverbs.

For example:

• “Nothing is impossible for a willing heart.” (French)
• “Love understands all languages.” (Romanian)
• “Love has to be shown by deeds, not words.” (Swahili)
• “The heart that loves is always young.” (Greek)

This English proverb about love explains that a man will fall in love with a woman who is a great cook. Alternatively, some people use it to indicate that a woman can make a man fall in love with her by cooking him delicious food.

Regardless of how intelligent a person may be, when in love the heart rules over the brain. Love can make a wise man or woman act foolishly.

This proverb states both a truth and offers some advice. Spending time apart from the one you love gives you the chance to miss that person and for that person to miss you. It is this yearning for each other that often strengthens the love and desire for one another.

This well-known English love proverb first appeared in an 1844 poem by Thomas Haynes Bayly titled “Isles of Beauty.”

This proverb originated in Ireland. It suggests that long journeys feel shorter when done with another person, and that life is more enjoyable with companionship, especially when it is with someone who you love.

You can use this proverb when you want to describe two people who are in love but who have opposite personalities, interests or backgrounds.

This proverb does not only apply to romantic love, but it is most often used in this way. People say this proverb when they are perplexed as to why a person is in love with another person. In this case, beauty could be physical, intellectual, emotional, personality-related or something else.

This proverb can be said by someone in love or by someone on the outside of the relationship who is trying to understand the relationship. Like “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” it is often said when the reason for desire, attraction and love is unclear.

A person who is blind in love fails to see any faults in the person they are in love with. This proverb is often used by friends or family members who can clearly see the bad parts of a relationship that the people in love do not notice.

This is both the title and lyrics of a famous song by The Beatles . It was released in 1967. Today, it is commonly quoted in casual conversations about love. This proverb means that nothing in life is more important than giving and receiving love.

The meaning behind this proverb is that love is the strongest force in the world, and nothing can overpower it.

This English love proverb means that regardless of the obstacles in place, love will always prevail in the end.

This proverb proclaims that love is what keeps us going.

This translates to mean that love is limitless. True love cannot be contained or broken by any means.

People use this to describe the bonds and loyalties found between blood family relations. It states that the bonds of family are stronger and more important than any other type of relationship.

This proverb explains how your home is the place your heart is drawn to. This place may or may not be where you grew up. In this proverb, home can be a specific location or when you are with particular people.

This proverb is adapted from a famous quote by Harper Lee : “You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ’em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don’t.”

The take away from this proverb is that while you might not like or get along with some or all of your family, you should try and accept them for who they are and as they are. Since you do not get to pick them, you just have to accept them and love them.

People use this proverb jokingly for something unattractive. Sometimes it is used to describe a person, but very often, people say it to describe a weird-looking animal or plant.

The idea behind this proverb is that a mother’s love of her children is strong and goes beyond physical beauty. You could even say that a mother’s love is blind since she will love her children no matter what.

This proverb is usually used to describe parents when they are disciplining their children. It means that sometimes, a person or parent must be severe to teach someone a valuable life lesson. The discipline or lesson taught comes from a place of love but is often unpleasant for everyone involved.

This lighthearted, jokey proverb means that by keeping one’s wife happy, the spouse, in turn, will have a happier and less stressful life.

The meaning behind this English proverb about love is that loving yourself is very important. Before you can truly love someone else, you must first know, accept and love yourself.

With a very similar meaning to the proverb above, this proverb means that no one else will be able to fully love you until you first love yourself.

This quote by the famous 1950’s American actress Marilyn Monroe has become a modern proverb of sorts about self-love. It means that you are who you are, whether you like it or not. Therefore, you might as well accept and embrace yourself rather than wasting time wishing you were someone else.

This English proverb about loving yourself is derived from the writing of the famous French Renaissance philosopher  Michel Eyquem de Montaigne , Lord of Montaigne. It advises that you should not give all of your love away since you also need your own love.

Short, sweet and to the point. This proverb means that you should love and accept yourself for who you are.

This Irish proverb instructs that while you should trust others, you should first trust yourself and your instincts.

When it comes to love and war, apparently nothing is out of bounds. If someone does something terrible, it is more justified and potentially forgivable if it was done in the name of love or while at war. Versions of this proverb are found in many other languages.

In 1717, a more modern version of this proverb was written in William Taverner’s play “The Artful Husband” in the form of: “All advantages are fair in love and war.”

This proverb applies to the emotional pain and stress experienced when one loses a lover or has a huge argument with someone they love.

People commonly say this to someone after a breakup to remind them that there are many other eligible people available.

The meaning behind this proverb is that you cannot force someone to love you. If you truly love someone, you must be willing to let them go. In the end, if they truly love you back, they will return to you.

This is often said to someone who feels like they are struggling to keep their beloved partner. The struggle may be enough to push that person further away. Therefore, the person must let them go and give them a chance to choose whether or not they will return.

This proverb is attributed to the English poet and playwright William Congreve . In his 1697 play, “The Mourning Bride,” William wrote: “Heav’n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn’d, Nor Hell a Fury like a Woman scorn’d.”

This means you should beware of a woman who has been rejected or betrayed in love, as the wrath that can follow is worse than hell.

Last but not least, this proverb applies to many situations. However, it is frequently said when lovers split, or a loved one has passed away. With time, the emotional pain of heartbreak is said to fade.

If you want to memorize and master some of these English proverbs about love, try one or all of these techniques. You never know when that perfect moment will arise when there is no better thing to say than a proverb about love!

By merely repeating something over and over, you will likely end up memorizing the word or phrase. However, by using the specialized memorizing technique called  spaced repetition , you will learn words or phrases in a more time-efficient manner. Plus, with spaced repetition, you are more likely to install it into your long-term memory.

Spaced repetition works by repeating something to yourself, and then waiting a set time, such as five seconds before you repeat it again. In the next round, you’ll wait 10 seconds before repeating it, then 30 minutes, then 24 hours and so on.

Using spaced repetition flashcard software such as  Anki is an easy way to take advantage of this technique.

Let’s face it, it’s hard to find any kind of entertainment that doesn’t have something to do with love. That makes it easy to find content to teach you English! Between the endless romance movies, sitcoms about relationships, and love songs, you’re bound to find something you (ahem) love. 

Try watching these in shorter segments (perhaps movie trailers and sitcom scenes) to get you ready for longer content. Make sure to keep a dictionary or translation app nearby to learn unfamiliar words and phrases as you hear them.

You could also opt for a language learning program with definition/translation features built-in. For example, FluentU has English videos with interactive subtitles.

If you are familiar with the TV show “The Mentalist,” you will be familiar with the concept of memory palaces. Using memory palaces is a visualization technique that links objects in a room or house to specific words or phrases to create memory triggers.

To create a memory palace, start with a place you are familiar with and choose a specific path through that place.

For example, if you want to remember the proverb, “There are plenty more fish in the sea,” you would first visualize a fish tank in the living room. Or, to remember the proverb “Time heals all wounds,” you could walk into the bathroom past a clock on the wall before seeing a packet of bandaids on the shelf.

When used effectively, memory palaces are a powerful technique. Memory palaces have been used since Ancient Rome to remember all kinds of complex ideas and lists. One of the keys to using memory palaces is to memorize the objects in a room then imprint the specific paths you will take through the palace. This helps you remember everything in the correct order.

While love is universal, expressing it verbally can be a challenge in any language.

Fortunately, these English proverbs about love can help you say what you might have difficulty finding the words for otherwise. Because you know what they say, “love is all you need!”

Check out this post for more love-themed phrases in English: 

Check out these 62 English idioms about love to learn some new expressions that native speakers use all of the time! These English sayings cover ideas about relationships…

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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Marriage and Love

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“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” from The Church of Jesus Christ beautifully teaches about marriage and love. It states that “marriage between man and woman is essential to [God’s] eternal plan.” This teaching about marriage is core to the doctrine of the Church. It even traces back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where God commanded them to remain together.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ believe that families can be together forever, not just on earth. Being together forever is possible when a husband and wife are married and sealed together for time and eternity. Sealing happens in sacred temples and puts an end to “till death do us part.” Marriage and love are some of the most significant sources of joy and happiness in this life, and working through trials can significantly help couples grow in charity and love. Church president Russell M. Nelson has said, “There is great power in a strong partnership. True partners can achieve more than the sum of each acting alone” (“Disciples of Jesus Christ—Defenders of Marriage,” August 14, 2014).

When dating, remember that a healthy relationship is an equal partnership between two people willing to sacrifice for each other. Real love is more than mutual attraction; love that forms a lasting relationship needs a well-established foundation. We can build a good foundation through respect, forgiveness, and hard work. Remember President Boyd K. Packer’s advice in your search for marriage and love: avoid temptation and feelings of pride. Instead, “seek the pure, eternal love that God has in store for [us]” (“Eternal Love,” November 3, 1963).

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A Gospel of Relationships

How Can I Love Someone Unconditionally?

Sometimes patience with a significant other can run thin. Whether you’ve gotten into an argument or you just don’t see why your partner can’t put their dishes in the sink, you may find yourself asking, “How am I supposed to love this person unconditionally ?” To answer this, we need not look further than the perfect example of unconditional love: Heavenly Father. Despite all our weaknesses and shortcomings, God loves us no matter what. When we love others unconditionally, we do just that—we love them  no matter what .  While this doesn’t mean you should let your partner’s erroneous actions go unchecked, it does mean  that  you should recognize the eternal potential in your partner. Try to see them as God sees them—as a being capable of repentance and growth. In doing so, you will find that your love for them and patience with them will increase.  

FEATURED TALKS ON UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

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How Can I Tell if I Should Marry the Person I’m Dating?

Deciding to marry is one of the biggest commitments you will ever make, so how can you know if the person you are dating is the “right” one for you?  As  Bruce A. Chadwick explained ,  “To most of us Heavenly Father says, ‘There are  thousands  .  . .  who are worthy to enter my house and covenant to be your eternal mate. You pick one you like who is worthy, and I will give you my blessing’ ” (“ Hanging Out, Hooking Up, and Celestial Marriage ,” May  7 , 2002).    

I f  you both   are  committed to each other and to living according to the gospel of Jesus Christ ,   t hen go to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him to help you understand His will. He will send the Holy Ghost to help you feel peace and assurance about whether the person you are dating will be a good marriage partner for you, and you for them.  

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How Do I Love My Spouse When Our Marriage Is on the Rocks?

All couples face challenges in love and marriage. Contention  can spout from innocent differences in opinion or from situations of greater weight, such as financial problems. Whatever the cause, husbands and wives can work together to overcome any challenge when they remember that their marriage is a sacred covenant and responsibility.  

Ultimately you have the power to choose how you will react when things aren’t going well in your marriage. Will you respond to your spouse with anger, frustration, and bitterness? Or will you react with patience, love, and humility? As President Boyd   K. Packer said, “An eternal marriage is worth every effort it requires” (“ Eternal Marriage , ”  April  14,  1970  ).  So  don’t give up. As you pray for guidance, the Lord will bless you with an increase of love for your spouse and the strength to overcome your trials.  

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Marriage, Family Law, and the Temple

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Repentance and Forgiveness in Marriage

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What Are Some Characteristics of a Healthy Relationship?

While a quick scroll through Instagram might convince you otherwise, there is no such thing as a perfect relationship. There are, however, a few characteristics that are common in healthy relationships. Some of those characteristics are trust, good communication, compromise, and honesty. Above all else, a relationship is healthiest when partners keep their covenants with each other and God. There is no better way for two people to draw closer together in love and unity than for both to keep the commandments, serve others, and strengthen their individual testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you find that your relationship is unsteady or failing, remember this quote from Elder Holland: “You want capability, safety, and security in dating and romance, in married life and eternity? Be a true disciple of Jesus” (“ How Do I Love Thee? ” February 15, 2000).

Communicating Within Marriage | Hugh W. Pinnock

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Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments

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Disciples of Jesus Christ—Defenders of Marriage

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