“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35 NIV).

Highlights from “LOVING EACH OTHER” by Leo Buscaglia

There is nothing greater in life than loving another and being loved in return.

-A loving relationship is not defined by time, but rather by quality of caring. At its best, it is a healthy mutual exchange of thoughts, feelings and experience. It is home for one’s soul – a place to be ourselves and explore our deepest, inner yearnings, hopes, fears, joys. It is an environment within which we can relax and are comforted.

-A loving relationship is one in which both parties feel so loved, so accepted and so safe that they can share their innermost feelings, dreams, failures, successes, without reservations. It is a give and take, two-way reciprocal interaction rooted in mutual respect and cloaked with dignity, where tears and smiles are of equal importance and one that continually nurtures and supports growth.

-A loving relationship is one in which individuals trust each other enough to become vulnerable, secure that the other person won’t take advantage.

-A loving relationship is one in which one can be open and honest with one another without the fear of being judged. It’s being secure in the knowledge that you are each other’s best friend and no matter what happens you will stand by one another.

-A loving relationship is one in which you accept the other person at the moment as a whole and receive that same acceptance.

-A loving relationship is one in which there is a mutual caring about the growth and progress of each, where possessiveness gives way to offering the other to be his or her own person, where selfishness gives way to selfless giving, sharing and caring – Where the lines of communication are kept open, where the good in each is maximized, the bad minimized.

-A loving relationship is one in which the loved one is free to be him/herself to laugh with me, but never at me; to cry with me, but never because of me; to love life, to love him/herself, to love being loved, such a relationship is based upon freedom and can never grow in a jealous heart.

-A loving relationship is one in which each one sees the beloved not as an extension of self but as a unique, forever becoming, beautiful individual – A situation in which the persons can bring their own special I to each other, a blending of selves without the fear of loss of self.

-A loving relationship is a wanting to celebrate, communicate, and know another’s heart and soul.

 “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3 TNIV).