How many kinds of LOVE are there?

I was reading a story in an email that I regularly receive that discussed what love is. Specifically, there was a story about a discussion that the author had with an older woman in a nursing home. She explained love with three examples of “kinds” of love. The first was the “if” kind of love, where someone loves another person “if” they do this or they do that. The second was the “because” kind of love, where someone loves another person “because” of this or that. The third kind of love was the “always” kind of love, where someone loves another person “no matter what”. This “kind” of love is what I would say is unconditional love.

Unconditional love is the only “kind” of love there is. Any other “kind” of love is not love at all. Love has no conditions. Oh, of course we all attach romance to love and call it romantic love. Yes, romance can be a part of love. I just believe that we first love someone and then romance may or may not follow. Any adjective we add to love really doesn’t belong. Romance is romance and love is love.

Now I ask myself, what is love? Well, God is love and love is God. And I think of God as being synonymous with The Universe and Spirit. That really isn’t a definition. Love is a feeling that I get in my heart when I really connect with someone or something. I believe that I can not define Love or God or The Universe or Spirit.

The dictionary defines love as “an intense feeling of deep affection”. And I would add “with no conditions”.

That’s all I have for now. I’m sure I’ll revisit this again and again…