by Michele Mccullough

Created on: March 06, 2009   Last Updated: March 07, 2009

Recognizing true love may be somewhat of a difficult task. It's not something that you can just see ,feel, or even realise right after meeting someone. It's something that develops over a period of time.

People often meet someone and immediately click with them, then feel that it's true love. In truth, that is only the beginning. We all know that when the honeymoon is over, the reality of who that person really is, sets in. Life then becomes a series of day to day learning about each other and what makes the other one happy or sad, or even mad.

The first year a couple spends together is usually the hardest. Having to go about the daily project of learning to meet halfway and decide whose way is better, is a task within itself. True love means always having to see the other person's point of view, as well as your own, and giving them the respect if they are right. Being a strong willed person will usually complicate this matter and you will have a harder time coming to terms with a situation. The worst thing we can do as couples is to let feelings take over and reasoning take a backseat. Unfortunately, it is much too easy to get angry or hurt when confronted with a situation that we think we are right about, only to have our partner disagree.

True love, to me, has so many different meanings. Most importantly it is self respect and respect for another. True love does not call you names, belittle you, abuse you, or abandon you. It does encourage, comfort, and care. At times everyone will act selfishly or say something they will later be sorry for, but when a person truly loves someone else, they will always come forth and make it right.

While love can be defined in so many different ways, true love can only be defined as caring and being there for someone. When you love someone, you try to be understanding if they have had a bad day. A loving attitude usually promotes a loving response and even when it doesn't immediately, it will probably lead to that later when the other person has had a chance to think a little differently. Being loving and caring for somebody when they are sick or disabled in any way, is another sign of true love.

The bottom line is that true love is not self seeking, but a giving of the heart. I want to know that if I were to be diagnosed with cancer or get into an accident and be disabled, my husband would lovingly care for me and love me just as much if not more, than before. That's true love!

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