According to Erich Fromm, the essence of love is care, responsibility, respect and knowledge.
Interest; Fromm explains this in a very nice quote. “If we see a woman who tells us she loves flowers and forgets to water the flowers, we don’t believe in her love of flowers. Love is the active care we show for the growth and survival of what we love.” As Pinhani sang in her song, “She didn’t call me today, but she loves me.” is not. When a person loves, he takes care of the other person. She wonders what he does in life, how his day went. In addition, the person loves the things he works for and works hard for the things he loves. Thus, giving attention and care brings responsibility along with it. Being responsible is meeting the spiritual needs of the other in bilateral relations. If this responsibility does not include respect, it can turn into bullying. The song also contains the words “He did not pity me, but he loves me”. We don’t bully people we love. Respect is not being afraid of the person. Respect means an interest in the growth and development of the person as they are. And respect can only be achieved on the basis of freedom. Finally, the essence of love is knowing. Knowledge is reaching the deep about the other. When your partner realizes that you are angry even when you don’t show it out, it’s an effort to understand beyond that.
Considering all these, it will be inevitable to be interested in the people we love and try to understand them.
I wish you to stay in healthy relationships..
