What is the difference between being in love and loving someone?

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Permalink Reply by John Thompson on December 20, 2009 at 1:41pm

Good question. & appropriate for me I guess. I would say the latter comes with a little more intimate knowledge of the person whereas being in Love can be reactionary (physical, mental, or spiritual attraction) But I'm certain they're not mutually exclusive. I'm in Love right now & it's fantastic! A long time coming too. & as I get to know my girl better I find myself loving things about her. Facial expressions like a smirk or stern look. The way she raises her kids. "In love", I find myself acting the classic stereotype: i.e. "Just throw it in the bag," Baby! or "sure I'll drop everything and come pick you up"

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Permalink Reply by Imago Dei on January 1, 2010 at 5:26pm

This is a very good question! I've been toying with answers for a while now. All I've come up with is that love is the affectionate concern for the well being of others. So, I can definitely love you, without being in love with you. The word affinity means an attraction to somebody, and a liking to be around that person. I think when you're in love, you have an affinity towards the person, you just love to be around them. I've been in love before, but over time we grew apart. To this day I still love him, I'm still concerned about him and his well being, I'm just no longer in love with him. I guess one of the differences is that you can love someone from a distance, but when you're in love with someone, you can't stand to be apart but for so long.

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Permalink Reply by Natasha D on February 11, 2010 at 3:45pm

I think that if you're in love, you can fall out of love. To be in love sort of seems temporary/ like a high school crush/ or to just be infatuated with that person. And there's different types of love. You can have love for someone, you can be in love, and you can actually just love someone. To actually love someone, that's permanent. No matter how many years have progressed or how angry that person may cause you to get, you will always love that person.

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