When it comes to the emotions involved in relationships between men and women, there are a lot of grey areas, athough, some are usually clearly defined. One example of the latter, is the way that most people can differentiate the feelings that they have for someone they like, and someone they love.
Let’s take the relationship between a mother and her young son as an example. Naturally, your son would not say: ‘I like you, mom’ – instead it’s ‘I love you, mom’. In this instance, the difference between love and like is that the emotion between parent and child is something that is unconditional. A child is born loving his or her parents, so the emotion is deeply embedded, and comes naturally.
But if love is unconditional, how about liking someone? This has something more to do with romance, than paternal love. Most men and women who are in a fairly new relationship are usually hesitant to voice their feelings. So, instead of saying: ‘I love you’, right away, they say: ‘I like you’, instead.
In the complex world of love, dating and relationships, readily admitting that you love someone may scare the other person away ‘“ because it entails a long-term commitment. For men and women, admitting love is usually a signal that the relationship is growing to be more serious, and could eventually lead to marriage.
Let’s take a look at more of the key differences between loving and liking. Liking someone means that you are happy being with that person, while loving someone means that you absolutely cannot bear to be without that person. As cliche as it may seem, liking gives you the proverbial butterflies in the stomach ‘“ but loving someone involves something much deeper than that.
All in all, the difference between love and like has something to do with the depth of your emotion towards somebody. Liking may give you that warm, fluttery feeling inside ‘“ but it’s mostly superficial. Love, on the other hand, involves much deeper, complex emotions, making it one of the greatest feelings that you will ever have in your lifetime.
