Series: The Language of Love (Part 1)
Love is SO important. It affects our daily lives. It shapes our relationships. Love is something that you cannot ignore or dismiss.
Many years ago I read Gary Chapman’s book called The Five Love Languages. When I had the opportunity to attend a seminar he was leading, I could not stay away. Therefore, I am hoping that you will be intrigued by his content and check out his book for yourself.
Chapman states that there are five ways to express love: words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Ben Nadel wrote (https://www.bennadel.com/blog/1968-the-five-love-languages-how-to-express-heartfelt-commitment-to-your-mate-by-gary-chapman.htm), “While this might seem obvious at first, it can become an impossible task if we are not aware of our significant other’s ‘Love Language.’” Chapman expressed that thought by saying that everyone has a dominant love language, and if your significant other does not communicate love in your language, you will not feel truly loved.
“Words of Affirmation” are words that express love, encourage you, show approval, and show appreciation.
“Quality Time” is spending time with your significant other. It could include meaningful conversations or spending time to have fun with each other.
“Gifts” are gifts. Those gifts could be purchased or created, but they express love to the other.
“Acts of Service” are the things one does for another. It could be as simple as washing the dishes, doing the laundry, or walking the dog – doing what could be considered chores.
“Physical Touch” refers to physically contacting the other person to express love. It could be holding hands, stroking hair, kissing, or other forms that demonstrate love to the other person.
I am sure that those categories are not surprising, but many people do not understand how important they are. Like being in a foreign country, if you cannot speak the language, you are not understood. We need to understand the language that our significant others speak. We need to know how they express love and desire love to be expressed.
We will look further into this in upcoming blog entries, but I encourage you to check out Dr. Chapman’s book for yourself. You can click the picture below to get your own copy.