How did you learn how to Love, or did you just Know?

Question

Disclaimer: I'm an agnostic

Answer 1

It's partly instinctive, and partly learned. In my case, I was loved as a child.

Answer 2

As an Agnostic, do you have some evidence that we do indeed Love (not sure if the capitalization is important to your question)?

I see a difference between having a feeling one can identify as Love, and how we express such a feeling. Though the capacity for any emotion seems innate, identifyinng and expressing such feelings, and perhaps whether to continue to have them at all, is learned. Some people learn to identify a different expereince than others, so their expression ends up abnormal, if not empty. Some identify what most of us call Love and are taught poor ways to express those feelings,. Evidence suggest that much of this centers on how we are loved as children.

Answer 3

This is one of those questions that I can't fully answer here, but anyway...
I believe we are born with the above knowledge/ability, since I believe we are created and made in the image of a loving Creator.
However, we do learn how to refine our love to some extent through our parents, friends, teachers, clergymen, etc.

Answer 4

I didn't just know.

When you love, you do it without reason and regardless of anything the other person says or does. Loving another person requires complete self-acceptance and the ability to forgive. The evidence of love is that it is not dependent on anything.

It took awhile for me to get there. I can't even say how it happened; it seems miraculous and I feel blessed.

Answer 5

I think everyone is born with the natural inclination of how to love and feel loved but how far it develops depends on the surrounding environment. People who tend to be around more love and affection and having it be shown to them are generally more open where that is concerned and people who don't see that much of it are less open with their love. However, those that are less open can learn to be more open with experiences with others so it's both instinctive and learned.

Answer 6

I think that people have a natural drive to be with other people, though this differs from one person to the next. So I guess I'm saying that we're social animals by nature. And we learn to love people who we spend a lot of time together and like. I don't think that is necessarily has to have anything to do with religion, b/c that would mean that non-religious people cannot love, and my personal experience in the world is inconsistent with that.

Answer 7

Instinctual mainly. But, Disney movies really built up my idea of what love is like. I was always searching for my prince charming to take me away to his castle and do me like a mad jack rabbit. I learned through experience that love is not really as sweet as it appears in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, but it's still good anyways. Happily ever afters are a crime against the minds of young girls. Sure they sound nice, but they don't prepare you for real relationships.

Answer 8

Don't care if you are agnostic. The underlying factor for myself is that our Creator loves us and it is an innate feature of being a human.

Answer 9

It's mostly human nature, but to really love WELL, you need a good role model. People who think sex = love, or "I only hit you because I love you so much" had some bad role models.

And some of it is trial and error....that's what dating is for, yes?

Answer 10

I believe that I just knew, because for me God is Love, He created me, so there was always Love in me. Also my blast on my 360 kind of goes along with my answer here.