I never used to believe in love, but I do now. Maybe because I believe in myself more, and whether or not I meet up with a partner, it's still there and I know it's mine to give.

It's hard to love someone that doesn't reciprocate. It may work at first but eventually one just feels used. For your question, absolutely, if it is between two who care for one another. That often takes time and a degree of commonalities. If one has experienced it one will believe!!

How can anyone not believe in love? Love exists. Finding the right partner to reciprocate the love you give and the love you desire is the problem. Love is out there, but finding the right mate is hard to find.

Yes I do. I believe love is a verb. It's an action. You choose to love and you have to work at it.

I believe love can go one way but intimacy requires equal caring and vulnerability from both people. If you repeatedly feel love for people who don’t love you back, you may be simply lonely (which most of us are at times). You can cure that by making friends and getting out to have fun. Once you have a social life, you will be more able to distinguish friends from lovers.

There are different kinds of feelings that are described as love, but I think each of these should normally involve some sort of giving to the object of the love, even if what is being given is just attention and caring. Love should at the least include empathy and concern for the other's welfare and happiness and therefore some effort to enhance those aspects of their life, within the limits of what is possible. Sometimes it can be just emotional commitment and support, but without that, no, hard to call it love.

I'm not too cynical about these things, but "love" tends to be nebulous. It's less a single emotion than the result of a collection of feelings and actions and habits, and it's dynamic and changes over time. Sexual attraction and lust are usually what bring people together for romantic relationships, whether acted on initially or not, but that isn't enough to keep a relationship going; if we were better at partnering, we'd focus on the long-term companionship and personality compatibility, and from there develop those more lustful feelings — but that's not how biology works. I'm not making any judgements on what anyone does, but for me I think it has been helpful to hold off on physical intimacy until an emotional connection has been established. When I find myself thinking about her in nonsexual ways, wondering what she's up to or what's on her mind, I think that's an indication that I care for her in a way that goes beyond the mere physical, that we share a connection that's predicated on the long-term experiences we've shared together. We feel close to one another, allow ourselves to be vulnerable, do selfless things for one another — and, yes, share physical pleasures. Is that love? Maybe. Does it matter what I call it? Not really.

Looking for love in matured years comes from the Cinderella Syndrome developed in childhood from fairy tales. The syndrome is real but love is rare if it exisits. If it was real love... Not liking, passion, feeling good, gratitude etc..... couples would continue on relationships for decades. Their love is quick but is also short in most, yes most cases. Just look around. Enduring love is not common. I do not call it love. We are confusing love with many other emotions. Watching a movie on a sofa with a woman's head leaning on man' shoulder is not love. That is feeling good, liking company.

Our ideas of love come from our growing up on fairy tales. Not from experience. If it was from experience, observations from real life, you would be pragmatic and look for a good relationship. It is transactional.

Intimacy is physical. Trust, patience, respect are separate emotions. That is why those have separate words in the dictionary. Don't call anything you want intimacy. You can say.. I need these emotions to be intimate.

I have learned that most unhappiness, disappointments in life come from incorrect expectations.

Go ahead, attack me.

Love pours from a heart and spills into space, barely touching any other. Forlorn songs of appreciation cannot pay for love that's given, and no trinket known to man can pay, once that love is gone.

Don't look at me.
I am the coldest, heartless man you will ever find. I have contracted Pragmatism.

I believe there is love, however it is defined. Not convinced romantic love is in the cards for me anymore.

I still believe in love. Unfortunately I have to put love in the fire and test its durability before I commit longterm.

I believe that love is a real thing, but my last experience with it was catastrophic. In the future I'm going to call it attachment and hope I can control it. If it was ever mutual that would be better, but I'm not optimistic.

Yes but not as a partner anymore

Yes I do

I definitely believe in love.. I'm in love now with my man and it's mutual.. Depends on who you love... You have to find the right person...

Hmmm.. Remember the very first date??
Are you still with that one?
By your post, I suppose not.
But it doesn't mean you've got it any worse.
If I may please
Love is not going anywhere, we are!

I do

Welcome to the club . Work your ass off for a relationship , and the do nothing whines that you took everything he had , when mostly it wasn't his to start with .

I still believe in love, and a good heart and a great attitude. Hopefully I will find someone that appreciates those things.

I am always of the opinion that, what we all should crave for, is the 'acts' of love.

Not some emotionally laden mantra, Love conquers all.

It is the act of love that wins all the time.

Hi JustLuAnn, for most of my life I was a giver. It's how I was raised and also what I absorbed from culture. However, it's not balanced or healthy. Ultimately it leads to your exhaustion and loneliness. I'll be the first to admit that it's hard to learn to receive: compliments, gifts, promotions, affection, sexual preferences. Start small: accept compliments: with a smile, eye contact and a genuine thank you. You'll feel better, begin to expect healthy give and take, and the person doing the giving will enjoy it to. That's when true bonding takes place. I am still working on maintaining boundaries, but I'm getting there. Today I'm going to be courageous and talk to my boss about some scheduling BS (work til 9pm, come back in at 7am). I'm only in training - not like I'm needed for an emergency. By the way, I like your honesty. Kate

I do very much

Me too, I'm not sure I believe in love when it can never last. I suppose it's all about breeding.