Cover Photo Courtesy of FRED
If you ask me, love is the best feeling ever. This might sound childish to some of you but if you think about it, it’s actually the reason for happiness. When we’re loved, we bloom and shine the brightest. However, sometimes, we feel like it’s not reaching the other person as we hope to, no matter how hard we try to express it, or like we’re not feeling it ourselves. And that’s because, in fact, we’re probably talking in different languages. Just like English is incomprehensible to those who didn’t learn it, love has its own set of languages that not everyone speaks similarly. Before you feel overwhelmed, the languages of love can be summed up in five, and we’ll tell you all about them.
- Words of Affirmation: this love language is about encouraging, kind and humble words spoken to your partner, parent or anyone you care about whether in front of them or behind their back. Addressing their insecurities with a positive attitude will even make wonders.
- Quality Time: this one is about focused attention, quality conversations sharing experiences, and quality activities. To make them count, maintain eye contact, listen for feelings, observe body language, and don’t interrupt.
- Receiving Gifts: it might seem pretty easy to mention this one but you have to choose the gifts that perfectly suit the other person while keeping in mind that sometimes your presence can be the biggest gift. Not all gifts are tangible.
- Acts of Service: to choose your acts right in this case, keep track of the other person’s requests and select one every week or so to achieve it. You can even ask what action will help you express your love towards them and work on it.
- Physical Touch: it can be as small as holding a hand, and as big as a hug or a relaxing massage. In every situation, you can find an opportunity to reach out if you really think about it, especially if the other one is in distress.
Everyone has a primary language and might have secondary ones, so what might work for you won’t necessarily work with the addressee to whom you’re trying to show your love. Explore your languages so you can better understand your needs and the languages of the people you love and wish them to fully know it. Not only will this help you feel more special, but trust that it will put an end to many long-standing conflicts that you never figured out what was causing them, thinking you were handling things with love.
We might not be good at fully understanding these languages and their differences but what’s really important first and foremost is understanding each other and communicating healthily. You can even learn more about the subject by reading “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman, the book that inspired this article.
Article Written by Gabrielle El Kosseifi
