There's probably a lot of different kinds.

I think I might be fucked or something; I don't feel love the same way other people describe. No warm tingles, no sense of belonging. To me, it's like having very close friends that I know care about me more than just as a friend.

I try to be a good partner, friend, family member, etc, because I take pride in my work. I reciprocate, but I'm just pretending at the end of the day; there's no emotion from my side. I know my partner likes tea made a certain way at the same time, so I make it, but their smile is just feedback. All love languages are one-directional since I don't understand it.

I haven't told anyone, I think it would upset them, but maybe I should just be honest. I think they call it "aromantic" nowadays? Though I'm hesitant to add yet more labels to my identity.

There is love that builds you up and love that tears you down. It can be hard to tell them apart while you're experiencing them.

People have really warped definitions of love. I had a few ex girlfriends who were co-dependents and to them 'love' was like the constant fear and anxiety every moment I wasn't physically in their sight. They also thought if I loved them I'd have psychic powers to read their minds and they'd never have to talk to me. Shit was wild.

People focus way too much on feelings, and not enough of actions. You can feel all you want, but loving someone is an act and an expression via your acts. It's not about feelings, so much as doing shit for other people.

Way too many immature idiots think sitting around daydreaming about someone is loving them. It's not. Sitting around daydreaming about Superman is also fun, makes you feel like a big strong hero. But both of these are nothing more than fantasizing.

I think that the group of feelings we refer to as love can manifest in a variety of ways. Personally, I've had two long term relationships that were built on different kinds of love.

One was stable and secure, built on mutual trust and respect. We had fabulous communication, healthy conflict resolution, and a shared commitment to one another. There were also challenges that were bearable only because of that solid foundation.

On the other hand, I've experienced the passionate kind of love that gets glamorized in music and stories, or at least some degree of it. This is that falling feeling, passion, sexuality, and excitement. But that relationship was also somewhat unstable, so it was unfortunately an unsustainable feeling.

Both times, when the realization hit me that I had "fallen in love" (or developed a strong attachment, really) to this person, I was so overwhelmed and cried.

I don't think one is necessarily preferable to the other. An intellectual connection, sexual chemistry, and shared goals are all more important to me than butterflies in my stomach.

I hope it exists. Feeling extremely attracted (in love) to someone is very different to feeling love (unconditionally caring). One can move into the other and those are the best relationships. I've met a few, never experienced myself.

But even caring about people without being sexual is worthwhile. We usually call it friendship, but there is an additional deep level of it.

It is wholly and completely and utterly subjective.

To some, it is a reason to forego good reasons to stay alive and cast ones' self toward a cause of history and die in the process. To others, it is merely a nuisance that sometimes distracts them from work.

'Love' is merely a chemical expression that drives people beyond common hunger and thirst. What that results in is WHOLLY dependent on a person's situation and environment.