How to know true love is one of the hardest tasks man faces on earth. As love is the greatest power of all, you can imagine how hard it is to find someone asides family who will show you true love. While some people come from love, others are not as lucky to be born into real love, let alone find it. A lot of us think we know true love until we ask what true love in a relationship is, what is true love between a man and a woman or can true love only exist between a man and a woman. Unbeknownst to many, there are different types of love and before one can understand love, they must understand what true love means. Love is in 8 forms: Eros, which is erotic love, philia is affectionate love, storge is familiar love, pragma is an enduring love, mania is an obsessive love, philautia is self-love, ludus is playful love, and agape is selfless love. True love cannot be defined, it can only be described, felt and shown. You can spend your time searching for 20 signs of true love and taking true love quizzes, reading true love quotes and testing the true love of a boy or girl, if you don’t feel it, it is not true love.
Here are 15 signs on how to know true love.
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Mutual respect
True love thrives on mutual respect. Mutual respect in a relationship is one factor that will sustain a relationship. Respect for someone is admiring the person in all aspects of their life. It’s about knowing who someone is, what they stand for, your differences for and accepting them as they are. Mutual respect is one sign it’s true love.
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Trust
True love can be trusted. When you trust someone and vice versa no matter what, it’s a show of love. For the fact that you have a strong belief in the words and actions of your partner, love is in the air.
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Selfless
True love is selfless. When its true love, your heart is not focused on fulfilling your own selfish desires, it will be more focused on giving love. You must give love to receive love, however, love is not reciprocal. Selfless love is about fulfilling your partner’s needs as well as yours, to reach a common goal. If your love is selfless, you’d want to see your partner happy.
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Unconditional
True love is unconditional. No matter what happens true love will never die. True love is wholehearted, unlimited, not bound by conditions. For love to be unconditional it must be complete. Unconditional love is the presence of friendship, eros, charity, and affection.
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Attentive
True love pays attention to your feelings and needs. True love pays attention to your character and behaviour. Attention is the sole need of most people in a relationship, attention is the recognition of one’s person. In your partner doesn’t recognise you and refuses to recognise your feelings, it is not true love.
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Tolerant
True love is tolerant. It’s true love when your partner accommodates your excesses. There’s a difference between tolerating someone and tolerating their excesses. True love will tolerate your shortcomings, pending the time things change for the better or if that’s just who you are. Everyone is different, but you have a choice to accept anyone’s differences, and when your partner accepts yours, it’s a sign of true love.
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Non-judgmental
True love is non-judgemental. To be non-judgemental it means to accept others for who they are, without condemnation. If your partner condemns your person, then their love is not true.
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Slow to anger
True love is slow to anger. Any partner that tempers quickly by any action of yours does not truly love you. True love doesn’t mean your partner cannot get angry at you, it only means when there’s love, your partner temper doesn’t come to play often. Tolerance supports this aspect of love.
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Growth
True love supports growth, both personal and relationship growth. True love does not take from you or break you down. Even though it may not end in marriage, anyone who has experienced true love will always be grateful to the growth they experienced. When in love you grow in all ramifications as a person and as a unit, true love is not toxic.
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Teamwork
In a relationship, it takes two to tango. True love is not one-sided, it is a team effort. Teamwork in a relationship is a sign of true love. Teamwork is about picking up wherever your partner slacks in given circumstances in the relationship. When your partner refuses help or pulls their own weight, it is not true love.
- Easy communication
Everybody talks but does everyone communicate. Communication is the exchange of messages to aid mutual understanding. When you love someone, it is very easy to express yourself to them and vice versa. Communication becomes easy because your partner understands and respects you as a person, therefore, can read more meaning to your interactions.
- Fearless
True love is fearless. Love is unafraid of barriers, commitment, getting hurt, taking big steps, societal opinions. If your love is true, you and your partner will express no fear towards things that would tear you down as a person.
- Healing
True love heals all wounds. Love makes you feel cared for, protected, inspired, hopeful, happy and positive. Healing starts from within, hopefulness is the first stages of a healing journey, be it emotional, psychological, social or physical. Having that belief and hope love provides, will heal you rather than break you down further. True love heals pain and strengthens you.
- Sacred
True love is sacred. You see divineness in your relationship and partner and the unity of both parties as one, that is when you find a sacred bond. The sacredness of love is felt, and not said. Love cannot be cheated or toyed with as true love is sacred.
- Sacrifice
True love requires sacrifice. When you truly love and are truly loved, you make sacrifices to fully harness that love. These sacrifices are such that will benefit you and your partner in the long run. A partner who cannot make necessary and sensible sacrifices for you does not truly love you.
