‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.’
This is a famous passage from the Bible on love. People throughout the world, across the centuries, have been seeking love. Humans crave love from the moment of existence. The truth is, love is a basic necessity in everyone’s life. Everyone needs to be loved to live a proper and healthy life.
Love is a variety of feelings, emotions, and attitudes. Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure.
What is love?
How can we love?
We shall explore some of the things we can do for ourselves and our loved ones.
Love Is Action
Love without action is meaningless. Action speaks louder than words.
We live in a society that overuses the word love. You hear people say it all the time. We love ice cream. We love dogs. You love having holidays and vacations. You love to travel.
The word is so overused to an extent that its actual meaning has been undermined. Imagine someone saying they love the smell of freshly baked cookies and then telling you that they love you afterward. It can feel kind of strange, and you might even think that the “love” they are referring to in the same breath is the same. You might even ask yourself, “Does this mean I amount to the same as cookies? Is that all I am to you?”
The best way that you can show someone love is to put love into action, and one of the way we do that can be through the 5 languages of love:
- Quality time
- Words of affirmation
- Acts of service
- Physical touch
- Gifts
When we understand the 5 languages of love, and we do the actions that correspond to their love languages, we will be able to express and experience love in a much more wholesome way.
Love Is Commitment
Falling in love is pretty simple and easy. We fall in love for a variety of reasons and the initial stages of a relationship are always fun and exciting. With time, however, it can get difficult to stay in love and keep that passion burning.
Feelings of passion are fleeting, most of the time just chemical reactions in the brain that make you excited and giddy. These chemicals wear off over time and keeping the love alive will need effort. This is when staying in love becomes a conscious choice we have to make.
This will take a commitment: for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, we will choose to love and cherish each other.
Love Is Taking Care Of Yourself
If you ever find yourself thinking that you’re selfish for putting yourself first – don’t. Loving yourself, making your own happiness a priority and caring for yourself is not selfish at all. It is necessary and vital for your own life.
It is so important that we take care of every part of ourselves; our mind, our emotions, and our body. Nurturing ourselves contributes to our positive well-being, so don’t trivialize it and take time out to do so.
After all, we will not be able to love others if we are unable to love ourselves first.
Sign up for a wellness program to live a healthier, longer, better life. We get active with a wide array of challenges tailored to our fitness level. We eat well and maintain a balanced diet to stay in the pink of health. We stay healthy through regular health screenings and online health assessments. We reduce stress by understanding and prioritising our mental well-being. We quit smoking for a healthier and nicotine-free life. We sleep well and wake up to better health every day.
But the fact of the matter is: no matter how well we take care of ourselves, there is always a possibility of us suddenly falling ill or getting into accidents. Though hospitalization can’t be avoided, what we can avoid is using up our savings, or getting deep into debt. With a comprehensive medical and critical illness coverage, you and your family can worry less about the costs of dealing with life-threatening illnesses and accidents.
Love Is Giving Our Children A Headstart In Life
Children are the future of our world. They say it takes a whole village to raise a child and this is true.
If you have children or are planning to have them soon, you would probably know that raising a child is no easy feat. A lot of planning ahead is involved to ensure that they not only get into reputable schools but also set aside enough money on non-academic, extracurricular activities; sports, arts, and music, to help to give them a more balanced education.
It cannot be emphasized enough how important education planning is. In this society, it is one of the few ways to make sure that your child gains a head start and is better prepared for the world.
Some tips for education planning:
- It pays to start early to make it more affordable
- Be practical about how much you can save
- Choose your investment solution wisely
- Stay disciplined and stick to the plan
Love Is Retiring With Dignity
There is a high chance that you or someone you know has been impacted by the emotional and financial consequences of having to care for an adult family member. My generation is known as the “sandwich generation”, where we are expected to take care of both our elderly parents as well as our own children.
Over time, as the population ages, most of us can expect to either become caregivers or to need one. Modern medicine is allowing people to live longer and die slower. We need to ensure that issues related to money don’t affect our quality of life post-retirement.
If we want to be self-sufficient and financially independent after retirement, and ensure that we can provide for our own needs, do build up our funds and insurance portfolio for a burden-free retirement.
Love Is Providing For Your Family Even When You Are No Longer Around
Love does not have to end when you are no longer around.
What would you want to leave behind for your loved ones?
Giving someone the gift of financial security can be one of the most valuable things you can do for the people you love.
Consider giving your family a true gift of love by ensuring they will be kept financially safe in case something were to happen to you.
Junwen Chen
As a coach and consultant in the financial industry, I equip my clients with empowering knowledge that enables them to make wise, informed decisions across financial aspects of life. Here are 7 simple financial concepts that will help you create more wealth in your life and coaching business immediately.
Junwen Chen
As a coach and consultant in the financial industry, I equip my clients with empowering knowledge that enables them to make wise, informed decisions across financial aspects of life. Here are 7 simple financial concepts that will help you create more wealth in your life and coaching business immediately.
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