Loving someone, while a beautiful gesture, simply isn’t enough. You can love someone at your maximum capacity, and it still may not have the intended results because your partner isn’t receiving the love you’re showing. This happens when you don’t know your partner’s love language. If you’re not sure of your or your partner’s love language take the quiz here: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/
Once you’ve discovered the ways you & your partner prefer to give and receive love, check out some ideas below on how to show it!
Words of Affirmation
You may want to have a sweet scavenger hunt by placing notes of all the things you love about your partner in random places like in their briefcase or bag to exclaim how you love the way they work so hard in pursuing their goals. Perhaps you can place a note on the inside of a kitchen cabinet door to say you love when she cooks, etc. Get creative!
Physical Touch
Turn up the heat on a traditional massage and opt for a tantric massage. Tantra has some sexualized connotations because it’s one of the few spiritual practices where it is believed that sex can bring you to a higher state of consciousness, whereas it may seem taboo in other sacred spaces, but tantra is more than just that. Tantra is about connection. When you practice Tantra you are connecting all your energies: mind, body, & soul. Treat your lover to a real authentic experience that is focused on connected receiving. That may sound like an oxymoron, but it’s about connecting to your partner in a non-verbal manner. Listen to your partner's body and let it guide you. The first step is prepping your partner to be in the mental space to simply receive and nothing more. Allow reciprocity to fall by the wayside and give your partner the opportunity to indulge in what feels, smells, looks good to them and stimulates their body.
Acts of Service
Let your partner take a load off and have all the chores out of the way. Dishes done, beds made, bathroom glistening, trash taken out, all the things that say, we’re a team and these are our shared responsibilities so you don’t have to experience burnout because you have me…. Whew! It sends all the right messages.
Quality Time
When your lover’s language of love is quality time, your presence is the gift. That means undivided attention, engaging in an activity together or having an intimate conversation with one another. Finding ways to bond and engage with one another is the ultimate act of intimacy here. With so many social outdoor activities restricted at the moment this is an ideal time to put in special personal time with your significant other.
Receiving Gifts
Here’s the thing that many people get wrong with gifts. These don’t have to be super expensive gifts. It’s really the thought that counts when it comes to this love language. A personalized trinket, picking up their favorite go-to snack from the store, or a gift that shows you were listening to your partner is very appreciated.
For a deeper understanding of the concepts of The 5 Love Languages, check out the book by the same name by Gary Chapman.
Written By Lola Lepaon
