Love languages -- Quality Time
[from cloud_1_3_5]
Love means different things to many people - that's something we're all aware of. What we're less aware of, though, is the different ways love is shown by each other, and what means the most to each other. This doesn't just apply to love between partners - it can be a friend, a parent, a sibling or anyone. While one person may appreciate a hug more, another might see love in a simple gift.
So let's try to help ourselves out a little here - after all, I'll bet many of you haven't even considered this about yourself, much less anyone else. Maybe it'll help us understand ourselves and each other a little better.
Broadly speaking, the ways we show and most appreciate being shown love can be split into five different 'love languages'. These five are as follows:
Words of Affirmation - "I love you." "You're my best friend." "I trust you." For some people, hearing those words is the most wonderful feeling you could ask. Some say a picture can paint a thousand words, but the right words can say more than a million pictures ever could.
Physical Touch - a tender kiss, a hug when you most need it, a friendly slap on the back in greeting, or a child holding onto his father's hand. The simplest of actions can spread a warmth in a person that lasts for hours. The touch doesn't have to be intimate, even when the underlying message is.
Quality Time - A friend once said to me, "True love is when you can sit in a room with someone, even at opposite ends, not saying or doing anything, and without any background noise, and still be happy to just sit there, purely because that other special person is there." While you needn't go as far as this example, quality time together may be the thing you cherish most - the memories, the feelings, and everything else that goes with it.
Giving Gifts - think of the husband who surprises his wife with flowers, or the child that spends an entire day scouring a beach, searching for the prettiest pebble to give a parent. The gift doesn't have to be extravagant; a gift from the heart can say a lot more than a flashy car or a diamond ring. For some people, a little personal something can be what says it all.
Acts of Servitude - someone might do a job you weren't looking forward to, just so you don't have to, or you might bring them breakfast in bed on their one day off, to let them relax a while longer. People say it's the small things that count, and this covers most of them - those little acts that, if you took time to really notice them, would make you think 'how considerate'. Those little acts people do just because it's you.
All of the above apply to most people in some varying degree, but most people also have one that really stands out; that really says it in a way the rest couldn't. So what's your love language? Re-post this, putting your most important one in the title, and let's see if we can understand each other a little more.
-----
Hm... It was hard to choose one from that list, but I think Quality Time is most important to me. I can be content just to sit next to my best friends/lover doing nothing while they talked or worked or whatever.
@_@ *headdesk* I'm stuck on NaNo and I seriously doubt I'd finish this year. I'm at 31k, that's a HUGE improvement from my pathetic 700 last year. Still, can't help feeling a little disappointed.
--azu
Love means different things to many people - that's something we're all aware of. What we're less aware of, though, is the different ways love is shown by each other, and what means the most to each other. This doesn't just apply to love between partners - it can be a friend, a parent, a sibling or anyone. While one person may appreciate a hug more, another might see love in a simple gift.
So let's try to help ourselves out a little here - after all, I'll bet many of you haven't even considered this about yourself, much less anyone else. Maybe it'll help us understand ourselves and each other a little better.
Broadly speaking, the ways we show and most appreciate being shown love can be split into five different 'love languages'. These five are as follows:
Words of Affirmation - "I love you." "You're my best friend." "I trust you." For some people, hearing those words is the most wonderful feeling you could ask. Some say a picture can paint a thousand words, but the right words can say more than a million pictures ever could.
Physical Touch - a tender kiss, a hug when you most need it, a friendly slap on the back in greeting, or a child holding onto his father's hand. The simplest of actions can spread a warmth in a person that lasts for hours. The touch doesn't have to be intimate, even when the underlying message is.
Quality Time - A friend once said to me, "True love is when you can sit in a room with someone, even at opposite ends, not saying or doing anything, and without any background noise, and still be happy to just sit there, purely because that other special person is there." While you needn't go as far as this example, quality time together may be the thing you cherish most - the memories, the feelings, and everything else that goes with it.
Giving Gifts - think of the husband who surprises his wife with flowers, or the child that spends an entire day scouring a beach, searching for the prettiest pebble to give a parent. The gift doesn't have to be extravagant; a gift from the heart can say a lot more than a flashy car or a diamond ring. For some people, a little personal something can be what says it all.
Acts of Servitude - someone might do a job you weren't looking forward to, just so you don't have to, or you might bring them breakfast in bed on their one day off, to let them relax a while longer. People say it's the small things that count, and this covers most of them - those little acts that, if you took time to really notice them, would make you think 'how considerate'. Those little acts people do just because it's you.
All of the above apply to most people in some varying degree, but most people also have one that really stands out; that really says it in a way the rest couldn't. So what's your love language? Re-post this, putting your most important one in the title, and let's see if we can understand each other a little more.
-----
Hm... It was hard to choose one from that list, but I think Quality Time is most important to me. I can be content just to sit next to my best friends/lover doing nothing while they talked or worked or whatever.
@_@ *headdesk* I'm stuck on NaNo and I seriously doubt I'd finish this year. I'm at 31k, that's a HUGE improvement from my pathetic 700 last year. Still, can't help feeling a little disappointed.
--azu