Unconditional love is love without limits and conditions and partners are always required to give their all to their loved ones. Morgan (2003), points out that this kind of love does not entail suppressing their own needs to benefit their partners but rather a mutual understanding of their partners own needs as well (Morgan, 2003). This essay will give a reaction to the concept of unconditional love in regards to a psychological perspective.
Unconditional love refers to affection without conditions and limits and it is mostly associated with true and complete love (Cordner, 2016). There are different psychological explanations to unconditional love which may differ at times but the main concept is still unchanging love with no boundaries. In life, most people want to be loved the way they are and would also like to be capable of selfless love but they are often disappointed in the process. Unconditional love is a noble ideal and it often fails to match the reality that it is actually hard and sometimes impossible.
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Mondor (2016) explain that children need unconditional love as they go through life struggles which often require repeated sacrifice to be available and guide them repeatedly. However, the case may not be entirely same for adults since they may face disappointments as they open their hearts give loyalty to friends in search of safe relationships. Frontain (2015) Further adds that the need for unconditional love; which includes belonging, acceptance, and meaning may be hard to be fulfilled by one person and people often end up in rage or blame when their partners disappoint them. For conditional love to be nearly fulfilled, Mondor (2016) further cites that certain favorable conditions like enough mutuality and honoring boundaries need to be available.
Love does not entirely require one to be constantly supplied with needs and attention without conditions. From a mature perspective, I think that mature love entails trying to satisfy the needs of our friends and partners and also soothe them while in sorrow only at the best of our abilities (Frontain, 2015). This is correct since people also need to satisfy their own longings and needs before honoring that of their friends or partners. According to Cover (2013), unconditional love also requires one to be sensitive, attentive, and respective to the space between themselves and others. Slowing down and staying connected to ourselves and allowing the feelings of other people to affect us is also vital in maintaining unconditional love (Cover, 2013). Failure to do so should be accompanied by a vulnerable expression of related concerns and fears that will make a friend or partner understand and appropriately respond to the situation. For instance, when a one asks a partner to visit harsh in-laws, one can always decline with kindness and empathy in a way that will not spark any negative thoughts.
Over time, it has been proved that love flourishes more when we consider our partners needs but we cannot ignore the fact that our own desires should also be met. Unconditional love should entail a mutual trust in our partners not to damage the relationship in case of occasional disappointment (Sullivan, 2018). Partners are expected to be true to themselves and take disappointments kindly for a healthy and unconditional love to thrive. According to Fernández-Aráoz (2014), self-honesty is also paramount and partners need to know their feelings, motivations, and limits. People should master how to express their inner selves to be perceived correctly. Inner expressions should be done in a courageous and rigorous manner to make love and trust flourish in any relationship.
Mutual loving is an important element of unconditional love and for partners to give their all in a relationship; they need to feel the same from their loved ones as well. Unconditionally love should be more about caring and love rather than obligation and duty (Getter, 2012). Generally, partners should accept their differences and work together on their differences skillfully.
Conclusion
Unconditional love is love without limits and conditions and it requires one to give their trust and love to their loved ones. However, partners should accept their differences and work together to avoid any challenges that may arise.
References
Cordner, C. (2016). Unconditional love? Cogent Arts & Humanities, Vol 3, Iss 1 (2016) , (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2016.1207918
Cover, K. (2013). Unconditional love. The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved from http://165.193.178.96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsggo%26AN%3dedsgcl.337069658%26site%3deds-live
Fernández-Aráoz, C. (2014). Creating a Culture of Unconditional Love. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles , 2–4. Retrieved from http://165.193.178.96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dbth%26AN%3d118563928%26site%3deds-live
FRONTAIN, R.-J. (2015). McNally, Cheever, and the Secret of Unconditional Love. Papers on Language & Literature , 51 (1), 60–92. Retrieved from http://165.193.178.96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3daph%26AN%3d101962034%26site%3deds-live
Getter, A. (2012). Unconditional Love. Journal of Palliative Medicine , 15 (9), 1040. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2012.0081
Mondor, C. (2016). The Underdogs: Children, Dogs, and the Power of Unconditional Love. Booklist , (16), 7. Retrieved from http://165.193.178.96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsgao%26AN%3dedsgcl.451632135%26site%3deds-live
Morgan, T. (2003). Unconditional Love. Video Store , (35). Retrieved from http://165.193.178.96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsgbe%26AN%3dedsgcl.109990819%26site%3deds-live
Sullivan, M. (8AD, February 2018). Facing the challenges of unconditional love. Washington Post, The . Retrieved from http://165.193.178.96/login?url=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dbwh%26AN%3dwapo.89b0f104-9429-11e8-a679-b09212fb69c2%26site%3deds-live
