What is a relationship, of any kind, that you wouldn’t be the same without?
~ “I guess all of them because without those experiences my life would be a little bit different, whether that’s good or bad”
Have you ever liked someone more after they frustrated you or because of a seemingly annoying trait?
~ “I don’t like them more, but I sometimes find it endearing”
Do others benefit from your energy?
~ “No, that’s nonsense.”
Love Week
What is love? Baby, I won’t hurt you – but love may or may not this week. The voices expressed their thoughts on unconditional love, love and success, and people who impact their lives. We begin today with a look at a trope, admittedly inspired by television. The annoying admirer and frustration flirtation technique, is there any truth to this? The answer was strongly in one direction.
Moving onto the deeper questions, there was a lot of appreciation for parents and strong friendships across the board. The most split questions were does “love equate success”, and is “animal love inferior to human love” – a lot of depth and strong feelings shared. All in all, it was a lovely week with much effort and energy put into the responses. It was tough to cut down the responses to just fifteen, as there was a flood of loud and wise voices with great inputs on love. So enjoy today’s voices, and let their voices help inspire and comfort those experiencing love in all its various forms.
Have you ever liked someone more after they frustrated you or because of a seemingly annoying trait?
~ “No”
~ “No. Annoying people annoy me. “
~ “No not really, To be honest. Its more of a push away. No matter the way the girl looks. However, I base my attraction off of personality.”
~ “No, if I really liked them it wouldn’t do any harm but I wouldn’t like them MORE.”
~ “no”
~ “No”
~ “No, I don’t live in a rom-com or anime”
~ “I don’t like them more, but I sometimes find it endearing”
~ “No, but I’ve found i have less of a crush on someone after they’ve done something frustrating. “
~ “Yes”
~ “No, this hasn’t happened to me. When someone annoys me I can’t help but take it as a personal attack even if that’s just the way they are.”
~ “No”
~ “No”
~ “no”
~ “Yes!”
What is a relationship, of any kind, that you wouldn’t be the same without?
~ “Certain friendships I’ve had/have”
~ “That with my husband. “
~ “The relationship I have with myself tbh. At one point in my life I was in a very dark place and hated being in my own skin. Since then I’m able to be comfortable in my own skin and have a relationship with myself. Its very important to have those.”
~ “I guess all of them because without those experiences my life would be a little bit different, whether that’s good or bad”
~ “I have no meaningful relationships of any kind”
~ “The boy in school whom I had feelings for for over 10 years and he repeatedly took advantage of this. I learnt my worth and that at no cost should I be in a relationship for superficial reasons.”
~ “Raised with love by a single mom”
~ “My parents”
~ “Friendships I’ve built at my high school”
~ “The relationship I have with my husband”
~ “I suppose the relationship between me and my mum. I don’t know what I’d do without her because she’s so tolerant of me and looks after me.”
~ “Being cheated on”
~ “Family”
~ “my long term boyfriend. i couldn’t live without him.”
~ “My relationship to my parents… they’ve guided me so much.”
Do you equate finding love with being successful? Can you have one without the other?
~ “There are different aspects of being “successful”; you can be successful financially without being successful romantically, and vice versa. It is not necessary to have success in all areas to be successful in life.”
~ “There is no greater joy in life than love. You can be successful in other ways, but true love can’t be replaced. “
~ “Love can be successful and unsuccessful. My parents got divorced when I was 12. And pretty much another going on now. Its happens, you have to be careful. Yes you can have one without the other.”
~ “No, finding a partner is an important part of success but it’s not the whole thing. And it doesn’t have to be love, but it has to be some kind of real friendship or something otherwise it’s going to be unpleasant for everyone”
~ “I do not. “
~ “Don’t equate. I’ve been single for most of my life and never felt lonely. Been in some beautiful relationships too. I have been happy and successful in both cases.”
~ “No. Yes.”
~ “There are different kind of successfullness…. but i think finding love is a very important part of finding happiness “
~ “Love and success are completely separate. You can be successful regardless of your relationship status. “
~ “I don’t think love is required for success but it is a nice perk. Success is different for every person. It could be finding love or having a family or owning a business.”
~ “Yes I think so. All sorts of random people manage to find love, and there’s perfectly nice people that can’t seem to. “
~ “Yes. Love is success “
~ “I do not equate the two. Yes. You can have a toxic relationship.”
~ “finding love does not equate success, no. the other day i saw a homeless couple lying in the streed cuddling together. clearly, love does not equate success, especially for them.”
~ “You can be successful without loving others, but never without loving yourself at least a little”
Is animal love different or inferior to human love? Does unconditional love win out against learned love?
~ “It’s too hard to say. We don’t know what animals think it how they, personally, value their relationships. Maybe because we’ve removed the barriers to having a relationship for most individuals, we might be different from animals in that respect. Unconditional love is not necessarily better than learned love and they can indeed be the same thing.”
~ “Animal love is different, but more likely to be unconditional. Unconditional is more desired but learned is more common. “
~ “Animal love and human love are the same. Sure there isn’t a rational thought there but still. Dogs would give their lives for their owners. Isn’t that what we tell our partners too?”
~ “Animals aren’t capable of the same types of thoughts humans are, so it’s definitely different. And inferior for a human, but I imagine a pet doesn’t really value a human’s love more than that from another pet in the household. IDK though.”
~ “Human love is more complex by nature us being consciously aware of it. This doesn’t make it more or less valid. All love is learned.”
~ “Different, yes. I have never encountered fully unconditional love.”
~ “Yes, it’s different, humans project love onto animals’ behavior.”
~ “Animal love is different but not inferior. Also it’s not unconditional. Learned love doesn’t lose against unconditional love, all kind of love are equally valuable…”
~ “I think animal’s love for humans is much more unconditional, but neither is inferior to the other. I do believe learned love wins over unconditional love, since everyone has flaws.”
~ “I think animal love is different but not inferior. The difference is that you are that animal’s whole world. “
~ “Like love towards pets? I think that’s a beautiful form of love and not inferior, although maybe different as not all animals love us back (as far as we’re aware) yet humans love them anyway which is cute. I think it depends on how strong the love is, the source of the love doesn’t matter”
~ “No and no”
~ “Animal love is inferior. Unconditional and learnt are too different to compare”
~ “humans are animals. loving non-human animals is not an inferior love. that’s disgusting to suggest.”
~ “I have never had pets of any kind so it’s hard for me to speak on animal love. It’s equal as far as I would think, though. Unconditional vs. learned, I don’t know. I think they’re equal, too.”
Do others benefit from the energy you put out into the world?
~ “I don’t presume to speak for others, but I do strive to make people happy.”
~ “Yes, I make an effort to make others happy. “
~ “Yes, I currently have a partner right now. She’s always told me that I make her day everyday. I always make her laugh. I”
~ “Probably not in any important way. I try to be a good person and work hard but beyond that I don’t matter – I could be replaced by a machine, provided the machine was reasonably well-programmed, and it would all be the same.”
~ “I don’t put out any energy, so no”
~ “Absolutely”
~ “No, that’s nonsense.”
~ “Maybe”
~ “I sure hope so. “
~ “I hope so”
~ “I hope so. I think sometimes it does, like when I try to be funny. However, I am easily frustrated and sometimes I bring negativity to people.”
~ “Yes”
~ “Yeah”
~ “probably not”
~ “I sure hope so!”
How are you feeling, right now?
~ “Tired, worn out, a little anxious, but content.”
~ “Happy and in love”
~ “To be honest, horrible. I’ve got shit going on that I shouldn’t have to deal with. Its all because someone’s fault and they fucked up. Its causing a lot of stress on me but still I’m trying to look at it postively.”
~ “Fine. Neutral.”
~ “apathetic “
~ “Tired”
~ “Great, I just made iced coffee.”
~ “Calm”
~ “Pretty good, I graduate today so that’s pretty cool. “
~ “Pretty good. I just tried on an outfit I haven’t worn in forever and it fits better than ever thanks to losing weight.”
~ “Nervous. I go back to school after half term and we have mock exams coming up.”
~ “Eh”
~ “Fat after eating a big meal”
~ “physically tired”
~ “Pretty good. A little bored at work. Overall, in a good mood. “
Describe yourself, however you want, in two sentences.
~ “I’m a millennial who’s doing okay in life but about to make some big changes in the name of love. I have an artistic soul and an analytical mind.”
~ “I am young and excited for the future. At the same time I am worried about the future and feel old for my years.”
~ “A difference maker, care giver, empath, dark. Not noticeable, invisible. “
~ “no”
~ “hopeless failure”
~ “I need a lot of space as a result of being coddled and controlled as a child. This has affected my relationships. I can be a little distant and cold sometimes but I always tend to.prioritize the feelings of loved ones over my own”
~ “A grounded human being with more experience than most. Grateful for the love of friends and family, dedicated to paying charity forward.”
~ “I’m a quite lonely young woman, as I am quite jealous and greedy. My few friends think i’m weird, but generous and altruistic…”
~ “I procrastinate a lot. I also am forgetful. “
~ “I am strong. I am me.”
~ “I’m a maths nerd. I was born in Norfolk, UK in 2002.”
~ “I’m a caring and nurturing father. My two daughters are the loves of my life; I don’t need anyone else. “
~ “I’m hard working, not dumb, pretty chill, an ambivert, not a risk taker, family-oriented, and emotionally stable.”
~ “vegan antinatalist”
~ “I am the kind of person who gets things done. I want to spend my life with people I love.”
Final Thoughts
So, how should we evaluate the different kinds of love, is it fair to compare them in such a way? A surprising number of answers were willing to peg animal love as inferior, but the results were about equal. We are also reminded to appreciate the love and wisdom we experience through our parents, our close friends, and also to establish a loving relationship with ourselves. And last, but not least, was the sheer volume of people who are trying and hoping that the energy they are putting out into the world is being received honestly and positively!
Conversation Sparks
Furthering the conversation, is there anyone who might put our name down as someone their life wouldn’t be the same without? Love between friends, a teacher and student, or a grandparents and grandchildren, how do these different relationships experience love? Who do you feel more at peace and calm around as opposed to simply energized?
And as always, there is so much more to say. If you want to continue listening to, why not stop by and check out the post on Family Week or our last post on music! Thanks so much for reading and listening to today’s voices. Wishing you all the love you need to get through upcoming trials and situations, and until next week remember: be heard.