Health and Well-being is Found in the Loving

In the hustle and bustle, stress and strain of life in our current culture, it is profoundly relevant to learn that loving improves our physiological and psychological health while contributing to a longer, more satisfying life. Some of the definitions for the word love include 1) an intense feeling of deep connection, 2) a great interest and pleasure in something, 3) feeling deep affection for, liking, or enjoying a person, place or thing. Understanding the word love through this multicolored lens broadens our collection of life’s great loves.  We can potentially love our animals, our neighbors, those we serve, those who serve us, a warm bed, a glorious sky, a cool breeze and the list goes on. There is so much to love, and in doing so, as it turns out, we improve our well-being. When we participate in or experience loving, our body releases a collection of feel-good hormones that ignite the reward center in the brain, promoting attachment and bonding while reducing stress and stress hormones, depression, anxiety, and physical pain. The research suggests that social bonds, even with your dog, can improve your sleep, immune system, lower inflammation, and reduce heart attack and cancer risk.

Creating a life that includes actively loving can result in improved levels of happiness and an enhanced ability to cope with adversity, creating more resilience and optimism. Throughout life, the opportunities to love may shift and change shape, but the possibilities are endless. It is critical to pause and be present in the loving, to notice the deep satisfaction and joy that bubble up and spill over. The more we perceive the moment-to-moment benefits of loving, the more likely we will navigate towards this behavior, integrating it into our coping arsenal, driving us forward with the understanding that, in fact,  “the greatest of these is love.”