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A couple in a long-term relationship requires unconditional love to keep the intimacy and loving feeling strong as they embark on a journey to forever.

Donald Welch’s The Love I Thought I Knew is a play that follows the life of couples Karen Tisdale, a chef, and Calvin Tisdale, a physical therapist. The story revolves around the themes of love and trust for people. The characters in the story encounter several challenges that affect their life trajectory as deception comes into play.

When you are in a relationship, you might take into account the goals and unconditional love that should drive the partnership forward. Both individuals in a relationship are chained by love and commitment with each other as they embark on a journey to forever.

What is Unconditional Love?

Unconditional love is free love. It is a feeling of belongingness and affection without any strings attached. It is not forced or built to chain two persons in a marriage or a relationship. In Christianity, it is referred to as “compassion” or “agape love,” the highest form of love. This feeling is tied to different types of relationships, including platonic, familial, and romantic.

What does it look like? Here are different points you can take into account:

It Benefits the Emotional Health

An individual works best when feeling unconditional love. The feeling of having a shoulder to lean on and someone to trust fully can help improve one’s emotional health. It helps produce positive feelings on the receiving end of the relationship. Unconditional love should improve one’s emotional stability, especially when they are with the right person.

It is Security

An individual would know what unconditional love is when childhood and adulthood both feel secure. Security is knowing when you are away from any form of danger or harm. It is also a feeling when your needs are readily available. Security means that one becomes confident that love does not go away despite the hardships and conflicts along the way.

It is Altruism

Altruism refers to selfless actions that help or benefit other individuals. Unconditional love is when you have the need to help other people without thinking of the possible benefits that they can return to you. It is the act of helping when you think of the support and benefit they need from you.

It is Acceptance and Forgiveness

You already know that no one on Earth is ever perfect. Mistakes are inevitable. If you are practicing unconditional love, you must learn to accept and forgive. Acceptance and forgiveness are a key to keeping the love with your partner in your relationship. When you are experiencing a turbulent relationship, you must learn to take time to breathe and process everything. With this, you can give yourself a way to accept and forgive the person who wronged you. You might have the need to end a partnership, but you can still continue to protect your well-being and forgive the other person. With this, you have to accept the changes the mistake or the other person brings to your life. Unconditional love is also loving oneself and knowing when to let go without any form of remorse.

It Does Not Neglect Your Needs

Unconditional love should not feel that you have been neglected. You must be in the position where your needs are readily available. There can be a lot of challenges in a relationship. You should know that if you have open communication with your loved one, both parties should know the needs of the other.

It Does Not Tolerate Abuse

Some relationships can become toxic, especially when one of the couples cannot accept change or forgive a simple fault. The toxicity can give rise to abuse, which can also come in different forms. Silent treatment or stonewalling is already a form of abuse to the other part of the relationship. Though not physical, it can create constraints on the emotional stability of the other person. A couple practicing unconditional love would know the wants and needs of the other side of the relationship. It should be clear to you that you shall never feel any threats being in a committed relationship with another individual.

Love comes in different versions, depending on the people harnessing it. It molds the morality or individuality of the person, especially when they are influencing other people. You can also feel and provide unconditional love to other people by keeping the peace and harmony. Providing them with what they need at the moment can also help them achieve the emotions they need to intellectually and emotionally grow.

If you want to learn more about unconditional love in a romantic or dramatic scenario, you should get a copy of Donald Welch’s The Love I Thought I Knew. The book is available on Amazon.