Category Archives: Mature Love

Love, the Feeling, versus Love, the Capacity (Immature Love versus Mature Love, part 2)

Posted on January 8, 2013 by John

. A properly (or fully) developed human being is a Loving human being. Love, ultimately, is a capacity. A capacity that develops as the result of developing many other capacities and virtues and behavioral predispositions. Some of these are of … Continue reading →

Posted in chapter 13, Conscience, Conscious Love, Courage, Differentiation, Emotional Maturity, Friendship, Generosity, Gratitude, Honesty, Immature Love, Love is Not a Feeling, Mature Love, Perspective, Real Love, Self-Love, Spiritual Growth, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Criticism, Critical Thinking, and Love

Posted on January 5, 2013 by John

. One of the running themes throughout all of my blogs and many blog posts has been encouraging anyone who reads or strays across these posts and pages to try and lead as examined and reflective a life as possible. … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Criticism, Denial, John Kenneth Galbraith, M. Scott Peck, Matthew 7: 1-6, Mature Love, Mental Health, Real Love, Spiritual Growth, The Examined Life, Truth, Winston Churchill | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Why Real Love Is So Difficult & Rare (updated 12-26-2012)

Posted on December 26, 2012 by John

. (This is an updated version of a post I first publish on Feb 28, 2012 — “Why Real Love Is So Difficult & Rare“) . . “We have lost our sense of values: when your fence falls, you mend … Continue reading →

Posted in Conscience, Conscious Love, Courage, Czeslaw Milosz, Differentiation, Emotional Maturity, Generosity, Honesty, Immature Love, Intimate Relationships, Love, Love is Not a Feeling, Mature Love, Mental Health, Real Love, Self-Extension, Spiritual Growth, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Thomas Merton, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

C. S. Lewis on Love & Kindness (and the difference between the two)

Posted on December 20, 2012 by John

. . The following is abridged & adapted from C. S. Lewis’s book “The Problem of Pain,” pages 35-44, & 58.  The parenthetical remarks are mine. . Are we not in an increasingly cruel age? Perhaps we are. But I … Continue reading →

Posted in "The Problem of Pain", C.S. Lewis, Emotional Maturity, Immature Love, Kindness, Love is Not a Feeling, Mature Love, Perspective, Real Love, Spiritual Growth, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

*DO* Carpe Diem

Posted on December 17, 2012 by John

. *DO* Carpe Diem (& *Do* Hug Your Children & Spouse More, and *Do* Begin Much More Often with the End in Mind) . . “The way to begin loving anything is to realize that it might be lost.” …… … Continue reading →

Posted in "If You Knew", "Shadowlands", Ellen Bass, Glennon Melton, Gratitude, Henri-Frédéric, Mature Love, Mental Health, Momastery, Perspective, Real Love, Spiritual Growth, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

How to Fall in Love Again

Posted on December 7, 2012 by John

(This is an updated version of a page I first posted over a year ago . . . )  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “I have no … Continue reading →

Posted in C.S. Lewis, GinaParris.com, Glennon Melton, Love, Love is a Choice, Love is a Commitment, Love is a Decision, Love is Not a Feeling, M. Scott Peck, Mature Love, Momastery, Real Love, Self-Extension, The Road Less Traveled, Thomas Merton, What is Love?, Zig Ziglar | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

How Asking Just *One* Question Can Save Your Relationship

Posted on October 25, 2012 by John

It’s easy to fall into a rut with your partner, to let things get stale, boring, monotonous, routine, to take each other for granted. But that’s not Love.  That’s not what Real Love does.  Genuine Love is about cherishing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Immature Love, Intimate Relationships, Love, Love is a Choice, Love is a Decision, Love is Not a Feeling, Mature Love, Real Love | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Mature Love v Immature Love

Posted on October 11, 2012 by John

. Erich Fromm, in “The Art of Loving,” wrote, “Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says: ‘I need you because I love you’.” The first statement is based on dependency—I am dependent on you, … Continue reading →

Posted in "If You Knew", "Reverence for Life", "The Art of Loving", Albert Schweitzer, Conscience, Conscious Love, Courage, Death, Dependency, Ellen Bass, Emotional Maturity, Erich Fromm, Immature Love, Intimate Relationships, Love, Love is Not a Feeling, Mature Love, Rilke, Spiritual Growth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Changing Yourself & Growing *IS* the Essence of Loving Yourself in a Healthy Way

Posted on August 23, 2012 by John

. I read this on another blog a few days ago . . . You do not have to change in order to love yourself. You have to love yourself in order to change. That means embracing yourself completely, right … Continue reading →

Posted in "Fight Club", "Three Kings", Matthew 18:8-9; Mark 9:43-47, Mature Love, Mental Health, Momastery, Self-Love, Toxic Parents, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Thomas Merton on Love

Posted on August 1, 2012 by John

. “Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work.” – Anna Quindlen When we are leading a life based on real … Continue reading →

Posted in "The Velveteen Rabbit", 1 John 4:16-18, Anna Quindlen, Chris Rock, Conscious Love, Courage, Emotional Maturity, Intimate Relationships, Mature Love, Mental Health, Real Love, Schnarch, Self-Extension, Spiritual Growth, Thomas Merton, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments