Love is a strange thing. It can be the most amazing feeling in the world, or it can really hurt, but in the end love is something most, if not all of us, will face. While there are many different ways to define love and there are many different ways to love someone (even yourself), here is a general guide to loving.

Steps

1. Say it. When you utter the words "I Love You", do they carry with them the desire to show someone you love them or do they carry with them what you want to feel.
2. Empathize. Put yourself in someone else's shoes. Rather than impose your own expectations or attempt to control them, try to understand how they feel, where they come from, and who they are.
3. Love unconditionally. If you cannot love another person without attaching provisos, then it is not love at all, but deep-seated opportunism. Your interest is not in the other person as such, but rather in how that person can enhance your experience of life. If you have no intention of ameliorating that person’s life, of allowing that person to be themselves and accepting them as they are, and not who you want them to be, then you are not striving to love them unconditionally.
4. Expect nothing in return. That doesn't mean you should allow someone to mistreat or undervalue you. It means that giving love does not guarantee receiving love. Try loving just for loving's sake.
5. Realize it can be lost. If you realize that you can lose the one you love, then you have a greater appreciation of what you have. Think how lucky you are to have someone to love.

Tips

• It does not make you a bad person to desire someone else's love, even if they do not love you. However, to truly love someone, you must let them be free. It is selfish to blame them for their feelings.
• There are many types of love. For example, a mother-son love is different from a best friend's love, which is different from a boy-girl love (if you know what I mean). Don't be ashamed to tell anyone that you love your friends as much as you love anyone else in your life. It's just hopefully not the same type.
• An ebook called "100 Ways to Show Your Love & Affection" by Gloria D. Heffner gives great ideas to add or keep the romance, love & affection in a relationship. The ideas can be tailored to your or your partner's personality(ies).