What is love? What is it that makes our heart race, or causes our lungs to rapidly consume more air? Why do we cry out in despair, or have a smile spread uncontrollably from ear to ear? Some may not believe in love, others believe that love is only romantic. A mother who loves her children will know the ferocity that comes along with it, while an older couple may know the tender side, doused with experience and years of persistence.

Love is what holds us together, binds us to the surrounding world. According to the Ancient Greeks, there were four different types of love. The first was Agape, known as an “unconditional love.” It is the ability to accept a person for who he/she is, regardless of his/her flaws. Agape is a love for anyone. It is accepting someone as a human being, and giving him/her the most basic form of respect. Without it, how would we ever be able to stand a person for more than a week?

Secondly is Phileo, a love that stems from Agape. Phileo is a friendly kind of love, not shared amongst everyone. While it is possibly to have Agape love for anyone, including your enemies, Phileo is not quite so easily earned. Phileo causes one to crave relationships, to be with another person, and is more, say, faithful and steadfast. It brings Agape to the next level, and helps us to form bonds with those around us.

While the first two types of love can be seen as somewhat distant, the third, Storge, is what links us to our friends and our families. It is the “motherly instinct” or the fierce protectiveness over a friend or a sibling in need. Like Agape, it causes us to love unconditionally, despite flaws, however it promotes forgiveness as well. Storge is the type of love that is “sacrificial,” where one would do anything for the person that he/she loves.

Lastly, is Eros, or “erotic love.” It is romantic, full of passion and desire. It is what drives us to marriage, to sharing a life with someone else. Eros is emotional, sensual, and focuses on the individual; it is what is felt in the beginning of a new relationship, the “high” of being in love. One cannot reach Eros until he/she has accomplished the three other stepping-stones of love, however, they cannot achieve a lifelong relationship until bringing Eros to the next level. As it focuses on the individual, one must realize that a relationship involves two people, and the other person’s needs are important as well.

While love may sometimes seem fictional, or sometimes even absent in one’s life, love is everywhere, and all around us. Love can be seen among friends, among family, through two people who are dating, but it can also be seen from human to human as well. We may not always see it, or even feel it, but it is there, lurking in the very depths of our unconsciousness. Without love comes loneliness, depression, a dull and monotone form of life, and in order to accept one’s love, we must be able to give love first.