by Terry Rachel, February 10, 2024
I like you. I like being next to you, I like your ways. I like everything about you. And because I like you, and everything you do, I love you dearly, and with all my heart. I will love you with every fiber of my being, and desire you in ways that have no words.
Friendships are not like this. Loving friendships can sometimes connect physically, but they fail to connect long-term on a physical level. Friendships typically return to being just that: friends. In friendships, there is a like component, a companionable component, where you share memories, confidences, gossip, hurt, and happiness. You will even love them, as they will love you. But there is no romantic love that will bridge you as one heart, the way romantic love does.
When you love someone, you will love them with all your heart and soul. At its worst, and without consideration for their own well-being, the loving heart will put themselves through agony. They will sacrifice their time and money – their love will know no bounds. As they strive to hold onto their love, while forsaking abandonment, they will face immeasurable hurt, deceit, and betrayal. They will not care. They will forge ahead.
At its best, the loving heart rejoices in their partner, respecting their time, their differences, their habits, their goals, and their dreams. They will connect on a spiritual level. They will embrace each morning and night, knowing they will be there for each other. They will exchange knowing, intimate glances, and love unabashedly, while courageously standing by to defend whatever slight comes their way.
The question of, “What is the difference between ‘Like’ and ‘Love’ has always be on the minds of others, but as long as we continue to have friendships, Like and Love, will always remain as two separate and distinct relationships. You tell your friend when your heart is on fire, and your friend listens.
A Hardscrabble Daughter 
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