Love is Mutual

“Love is an attempt at penetrating another being, but it can only succeed if the surrender is mutual.” Octavio Paz

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”  -Mother Teresa

“The art of love… is largely the art of persistence.”  -Albert Ellis

Have you ever loved something that did not love you? It hurts. It hurts because you are practicing the first law of love, love is action. You have invested deeply into the well being of this thing. The fact that it has not matched your investment hurts deeply.

Mutual love is always more benefit, more effective, and more fun. You cannot prove that love is mutual by nature, because it is not always mutual. You can, however, make an effective argument that love SHOULD always be mutual. It always wants to be mutual. It is at its best when it is mutual.

A relationship that practices “love is action”, “love is understanding”, and “love is unconditional” will achieve unfathomable results. The discussion of “love is mutual” is one of evoking a principle that will perpetuate the best efforts of this endeavor.

The principle of reciprocity.

Some ancient scholars have defined hell as a man pushing a large bolder up a steep hill. His efforts are grueling and painful. When he reaches the top of the hill the bolder rolls speedily back to the bottom, where he will start all over again. His labor continues for eternity.

The efforts of some troubled relationships can be characterized in this way. One empathizes, acts lovingly and consistently, only to watch the other spend effort on triviality. To avoid becoming the martyr of a relationship, I have researched the principle of reciprocity. It is one of several forms of influence that we can have on others.  

However, it is important to realize that, other than by the use of force, one person cannot control the decisions of another. The only person I have supreme control over is me. Despite my grandest of efforts, you still control you. My only hope is to influence you in such a way as to create the best result possible for both of us. In my opinion, love will do that. As Goethe said, “If I love you, what business is it of yours?” Therefore, we will seek to use the principle of reciprocity to achieve the mutuality in our relationships.

 Author Dr. Robert Cialdinis, suggests that the most fundamental behavior across all human societies is the within the principle of reciprocity. He describes the principle like this, “I am obligated to give back to you the form of behavior that you first give to me.” This principle has been demonstrated to some degree in experimentation by social science.

Dennis Regan conducted a study in 1971, where he tested the idea of reciprocity. From my understanding of the experiment, Regan had an unknowing participant being observed in a room. Regan’s assistant sat in the room as well, feigning the role of a study participant. Regan’s assistant would ask Regan if it were okay to leave the room to buy a soda. The assistant would leave the room for a few minutes and return with two sodas, one for himself and one for the other participant. At the end of the observation, Regan’s assistant would ask the participant to purchase him a raffle ticket. Regan found that 50% more people who received a soda purchased raffle tickets for Regan’s assistant than those from the control group that did not receive sodas. [1] Regan finds that the there is a strong urge to reciprocate the behavior of others.

Another observation showed an increase in tips for a waiter using the principle of reciprocity. When the waiter left mints with the check at the end of a meal, the waiter would receive an average of a 14% increase in tip. When the waiter would leave a mint with the check and return after a few minutes with more mints, his tip increased by 23%. [2] This is said to be indicative of the strong urge to reciprocate the behavior of others.

To further illustrate, I have engineered the reciprocity continuum:

How you behave toward someone will evoke the principle of reciprocity. The reciprocity continuum is an example of the options one has to choose from after receiving a behavior. The continuum works on the concept of perceived value. Each person in involved has a perceived value of the other person’s behavior. This perceived value is how people determine the value of the original behavior and the value of that behavior’s reciprocation.

To discuss, we will consider a behavior of perceived value has been received by Person A from Person B.

Negative Equity

At the low end of the spectrum we have negative equity. Person A responds with a perceivably value demanding behavior, causing negative equity for Person B.

Zero Equity

Person A does not respond at all, causing zero equity for Person B.

Partial Equity

Person A responds with a gift that person B perceives as being of lesser value. Person B receives partial equity.

Equity

Person A responds with a gift of equal perceived value. For Person B, the principle of reciprocity is fulfilled in equity.

Positive Equity

Person A responds with a gift of higher perceived value, providing Person B with positive equity.

Let’s explore an example.

Imagine you have given Jim an old lawn mower. It is in good working condition and you perceive its value at $80. In giving the gift, you have evoked the principle of reciprocity. This principle states, “I am obligated to give back to you the form of behavior that you first give to me.” Eventually Jim sees an opportunity to fulfill the principle of reciprocity by returning your gesture.

Positive Equity

Jim gives you a gift that you perceive is worth more than $80. You have received positive equity.

Equity

Jim gives you a gift that you perceive is worth exactly $80. You are at perfect equity. Jim has fulfilled the principle of reciprocity.

Partial Equity

Jim gives you a gift that you perceive is worth less than $80 but great than $0. You are at partial equity (which varies in degrees).

Zero Equity

Jim chooses not to return your gesture. You are at zero equity.

Negative Equity

Jim chooses to respond to your gesture negatively. He returns to your house after receiving the $80 lawn mower, and asks for $20 in gas. You comply with his request and end up with negative equity.

Perceived Value Given	Perceived Value Reciprocated	Result
$80	$90	Positive Equity
$80	$80	Equity
$80	$79.99-$0.01	Partial Equity
$80	0	Zero Equity
$80	-$20	Negative Equity

The most important thing to remember about the scenario is that we are working with perceived values. Jim’s return gift could have little worth in his mind. For example, Jim offers you a dusty old piece of furniture. It does not mean much to Jim, but your favorite hobby is restoring furniture. Therefore, Jim’s reciprocation is well received. You may even feel that you owe Jim something more.

Putting it all together.

What is the value of birthday card? How about one written and created by a child for a mother or father? Perceived value is all that matters. “Actual” value truly does not exist.  

What are the implications of this for our relationships?

Firstly, the principle of “love is understanding” has renewed significance. How can you properly reciprocate an act, if you do not deeply and empathically understand the person involved? At best, you will probably achieve partial equity and possibly be moving lower down the continuum.  Even if the reciprocation has great value in your mind, that does not matter. It only matters what value the behavior has in the recipient’s mind.

Secondly, we need to understand that not everyone knows the principle. Someone may be putting forth a great effort to know you, help you, or earn your good favor. If they are behaving in way that is not well received by you, you may need to communicate that to them. Also, one should be very appreciate of receiving gifts that have high perceived value in the eyes of the gift giver. This means they are doing a great thing for you, in their eyes.

Lastly, our goal is to achieve a mutual love. A relationship that has a martyr and victor will not last in the long term. Therefore, we must engage in the principle of reciprocity. Expect to land on the lower end of the continuum a few times, but never disengage in the effort. Any behavior will inspire reciprocation. Let’s make sure that we set our loved ones up for success, but helping them respond to our best efforts and hit the high end of the continuum.  

Remember, a relationship that practices “love is action”, “love is understanding”, and “love is unconditional” will achieve unfathomable results. Mutual love will tie all three of these things together and perpetuate this type of love indefinitely.

-Strength of GIF

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[1] Regan, R. T. (1971). "Effects of a favor and liking on compliance". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 7: 627-639. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(71)90025-4.

[2] https://www.helpscout.net/blog/the-psychology-of-personalization-how-waiters-increased-tips-by-23-percent-without-changing-service/

Love is Unconditional

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Lao Tzu

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" Jesus Christ

In our previous posts, we have discussed that love is action and love is understanding. In taking the first step of understanding another, one can learn the subsequent steps to acting in a loving way toward another. These are fundamental endeavors.

Some will inevitably find themselves in a roller coaster of love. At times the love will peak in enjoyment, while later reaching deep into the valley of difficulty. A month or two of real connectedness will be followed by subsequent months of the opposite. The ever-told stories of no longer being “in love” are heard and experienced by more people than care to admit it. What explains the roller coaster?

A spouse will never fail to remind us that during the dating or courting part of the relationship we did things that we NO LONGER do. Holding doors open, bringing in flowers, and deep focus on the details of the relationship often characterize the man’s behavior in those early moments. The time a woman spent on appearance, the time and space she gave the man to himself, and the playful fun was plentiful. These things take effort, patience, and compassion. As circumstances arise, love becomes conditional.

We presume that the feeling of love just drifts away. The reality is that the ACTION of love drifts away. It does not drift away on its own. Action becomes more difficult, and it drifts away on the raft of those difficult circumstances.

Unconditional love levels the playing field. This concept is truly the hinge pin of what makes love fail or prevail. What we must come to grips with is the fact that loving someone when things ARE convenient is shallow and lazy. To love when it is NOT convenient strengthens our ability to do so, multiplying the effect of our labor.  

Strength of GIF is all about building a strong self and strong relationships. If you want to build muscle, you cannot enter into the gym once or twice a month. The result will not be favorable. Building muscle requires consistency. It is a self-evident truth. Building social/emotional muscle is no different. If we want strong relationships, we have to act lovingly day in day out.

We are not talking about rewarding bad behavior. You are not required to condone and support bad habits. What you should NOT do is isolate someone or abandon him or her in his or her weakness. Now is not the time to talk bad behind someone’s back, to refuse to talk to him or her at all, or to neglect his or her well-being. You must continue to do the positive things that you would do in the perfect case scenario. When the stakes are higher, it’s just going to cost you more. The good news is that you will also get more from it.

The person that knows you love them in their weakness will not hesitate to trust you. They will not walk on pins and needles around you. They will not make you an offender for a word. What they will do is act boldly, with your forgiving cushion to aid them.

This will also strengthen the people around you. Knowing that you will not abandoned a weakened person, the group will be confident to act courageously and benevolently towards you. We are weak at some point. Having a team (aka family) that consistently (and without condition) leaves the 99 to retrieve the 1 who has gone astray, strengthens the relationship of the entire fold.

At the heart of this matter is belief that we are each created uniquely in the image of God. We all reflect his divine nature in our best state. In our worst states, his image is hidden, sometimes buried, but still resides. The will ALWAYS responsibility rests with YOU and I to wrestle it back out of the people we love. 

Love is Understanding

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”  Ernest Hemingway

"If you wish to make a man your enemy, tell him simply, 'You are wrong.' This method works every time." Henry C. Link

“Erroneous assumptions can be disastrous." Peter Drucker

Everyone experiences love the same way.

Please take a few moments to experience and familiarize yourself with a paradigm that has long caused much difficulty in relationships. I call this paradigm “I love you in a way that I would like to be loved”. I believe the basis of this paradigm is drawn from what many people refer to as the golden rule. The golden rule, as stated by Jesus is “Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31, NIV).” Jesus was not alone in making such a statement. It was said years before his physical life and many times after. Its principle is in every major world religion and philosophical school of thought. From this rule, many have derived the following conclusion.

There is nothing different in how we experience love. There is a standard by which all people experience love and there are no exceptions. A word or action that has particular significance to me has the same significance to you, no more and no less. That means that when I say or do something that should be meaningful to you in my mind, it IS meaningful to you. You take everything exactly as I intend it to be taken from my perspective.

In that rare circumstance that a well intended act on my part is not taken well by you, it is your fault. You simply are not mature enough, fair enough, or reasonable enough to understand my higher intentions. Until you change, there will be no way to move forward in the relationship, because there is no way that I am wrong. There is only one standard for experiencing love, and that standard is MOST well understood and practiced by me.

Because this mindset is assumed by many people today, even prevalent in my own life, I would like to prove to you why it does not work. You cannot lick your own elbow, and you cannot strengthen any relationship with this paradigm.

People experience love in different ways, as people are different.

People experience love in different ways.  People are different. Therefore people have different standards of what constitutes loving action, and this is acceptable and okay. When it works synergistically, it is actually quite beautiful. A word or action that has particular significance to me could conceivably have a different meaning to you. That means that when I say or do something that should be meaningful to you in my mind; it may not be perceived as meaningful by you at all. A comment of low meaning to me may mean the world to you..

If my good intentions are not received well by you, perhaps it is me that needs to rethink my approach. My ways are not any higher than your ways, just different that yours. You are in every way mature enough, fair enough, and reasonable enough to be loved in a way that works for you. If there is friction, I need to change. That way we can move forward in the relationship, because there is a distinct possibility that I do not understand you correctly. There are many standards for experiencing love, each as unique as individual to which they belong.  

I commend to you the reading of three very important books:

Wild at Heart, John Eldredge

This book is about reclaiming a Man’s heart. It discusses the idea that men have been increasingly forced into female roles and thus made to stifle a deeply masculine way of life. Its most important point is that men are, by nature, much different than women. A man cannot be expected to learn and grow under the same circumstances as a female. Though many men have been held to those expectations for many years, it is simply unrealistic.

There is an equally important sequel titled Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. This book explores the uniquely feminine side of things. It further explores the concept of each gender being created UNIQUELY in God’s image. Again, its underlying principle is that men and women are fundamentally different. Hence, the purposes of each gender will likely be different in nature. Neither is superior nor inferior, just different.

Men are from Mars Women are from Venus, Dr. John Gray

This bestselling book is written by marriage counselor and seminar leader John Gray. This work begins with a metaphor. Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. After meeting one another on a foreign planet called Earth, both experience selective amnesia. Neither men nor women can remember that they came from different planets. Their differences baffle and frustrate each other. They live with the difficulty of not understanding their differences.

John’s point here is that the emotional differences between men and women are vastly different. He even explains scientifically (though he is not a scientist in any sense) that certain emotion-inspiring hormones (testosterone in males, oxytocin in females) are more prevalent in each gender respectively.  He argues that it is vitally important to recognize and play to those differences, in order to have a successful relationship.

The Five Love Languages, Dr. Gary Chapman

Through his years of experience in relationship counseling, Dr. Chapman recognizes a theme. He notices that many couples that are coming to see him are trying very hard to please one another, but to no benefit. The frustrated couples act in a way that is consistent with their beliefs about love, but end up no closer than before to a successful relationship.

Dr. Chapman noticed a theme among his clients that amazed him, though it was simple. He noticed that people place more value on certain loving actions than others. The higher value a person places on a certain loving action, the more loved they feel when that action is done to them. Also, he noticed that whatever was a person’s highest value loving action was usually the first thing that person did to show others love. Moreover, the inconsistencies in what each person constituted as loving action were sourcing a great deal of the trouble that drove them to counseling in the first place.

The actions a person takes to show love is considered a love language under Gary’s metaphor. Because people place difference levels of importance on different actions, their proficiency in each language varies. The languages are as follows:

 #1: Words of Affirmation

#2: Quality Time

 #3: Receiving Gifts

#4: Acts of Service

#5: Physical Touch

Which do you speak?

Gary discusses how nature and nurture affect what love languages are most predominant in our lives. He suggests that we are all capable of each but usually proficient in one or two. The key takeaway is that what is most important to one is not necessarily most important to another. Recognizing the difference is half of the battle.

Love is understanding.

Does it really take volumes of books for us to realize that we are not being considerate of the differences of others? For me, the answer has been yes. It wasn’t until years after I read all three of these books did I start to realize the point that I am about to discuss here. Don’t be surprised if, by the end of this post, you are wondering how you wasted so much of your time only considering your point of view.

Love is walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. This is hands down, bar none, the ABSOLUTE MOST IMPERITIVE principle of love. There is no equal to this fact. Nothing that you ever read or heard or been taught will ever take precedence over this in human relationships. Nothing! Before you have done this, nothing else matters.

Consideration is the name of the game.  Consideration is why I believe in Jesus Christ. My entire faith is based on the premise that it makes perfect since for the God of the universe, in all of his abundant greatness, to walk a mile in my shoes. It is just so… HIM! I understand that many people do not believe in the Christ. This is a choice, and should be one that each person reflects on with diligence.

In your reflection, understand that the God of the universe knows exactly how you feel. He doesn’t know because of omnipresence or magic power. He knows because he has taken the time, an entire lifetime, to feel what it is like to be in the same crappy body that you are in. If that doesn’t make you feel better about things, then I do not know what will.

One of the things that he said is the subject of this post. “Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31, NIV).” I still can’t tell if he said this poorly, if it was recorded poorly, or if I have just misunderstood it poorly for a very long time. It is probably the latter. It may have appealed to me more like this, “Understand the circumstances that others are in. Treat them how you would want to be treated in those circumstances.”  Draw this wisdom, based Dr. Chapman’s languages:

·         Another thrives on words of affirmation. Though you have been programmed to believe that the need for affirming words is a sign of weakness, you provide them anyway.

·         Another thrives on quality time. Though you have been programmed for efficiency, you provide the quality time anyway.

·         Another thrives on receiving gifts. Though you have been programmed against any form of materialism, you give gifts anyway.

·         Another thrives on acts of service. Though you have been programmed to believe that this is debasing and humiliating, or that it is selfish to require such an act, you serve anyway.

·         Another thrives on physical touch. Though you have been programmed to avoid such contact, you provide it anyway.

The effective paradigm here is that I love people how THEY want to be loved. Dale Carnegie, when speaking of his enjoyment of a nice day of fishing said, “I love peaches and cream, but fish seem to prefer worms.”

By nature of this world, we are all in very different circumstances. Even the amount of things that happen between my wife and I from the time I leave for work until the time I come home, is enough to constitute the need to listen and become intuitive each day after work.  Because of the intricacies of this world, I think it is important to discuss the limitation of models discussed in Wild at Heart, Men are from Mars Women are from Venus, and The Five Love Languages.

Firstly, generalities about people only serve a limited purpose. Otherwise, one can fall into the vicious process of stereotyping. The purpose of generalizing in these books is to make the point that people are very different, differences are natural, and that differences are okay.

Secondly, the generalizations are not perfect. Men are different from women, but that is not to say that men do not have womanly qualities and vice versa. John Gray often talks about how women want to be listened to and not have their problems immediately solved, whereas men would prefer to get to the solution. In my experience, I have often felt the desire to just be listened to and understood and not be offered a solution. This is the case for many men. Thus generalizing specific behaviors is subject to imperfections.

Thirdly, generalities are difficult to apply universally. For example, under Chapman’s love languages logic, it would be difficult to address any number of specific circumstances, such as conflict. What happens when speaking a spouse’s love language does not provide the intended result? There is no discounting the great results Chapman’s method has had for many people (over 5 million people have bought his book), but to use it as law would be disappointing.

Here is one thing you can use as law; you cannot purposefully love someone without first understanding them. This is the critical first step to strengthening relationships. It is the only way to gain an ability to act in an effective way. Otherwise, you’re just beating at the wind.

You can accidentally love someone without first understanding them. We see this when you get tag along buddies that you never quite intended to tag along.

You can also coincidentally love someone without first understanding them. You loved them by chance. The circumstances were right. We see this when people of like interest just seems to “click” and have to put no effort into loving each other.

Most other love requires work. The first efforts of this work must be understanding. A dedication to understanding may seem to go against what you believe is right and wrong. You must learn, only for a moment, to SUSPEND your personal beliefs. This is not a contest. No one has a monopoly over right and wrong, in regards to perceptions. Two people can have differencing perceptions and both are right. I see George Washington. You see a bald eagle. We are both looking at the same quarter.

If you can suspend your own assumptions and perceptions, you can enter into the world of another person. As the Cuban proverb goes "Listening looks easy, but it's not simple. Every head is a world."

Listening is to a person’s perspective is can be compared to listening to fable or a fairy tale. You may have to step away from what you perceive is reality, in order to get a clearer picture of what is happening. Have fun with the process. If someone is custom to flying, do not immediately discount their discount their abilities. Try to know what it felt like for them to fly. Did they use a cape?

In this manner, we can begin to understand the MEANING of what is being said, rather than the CONTENT of what is being said. Meaning always holds more significance. It is the significant of the communication.

Consider a quotation:

“Our first reaction to most others statements or opinions is an evaluation or judgment, rather than an understanding of it. It’s time we start to permit ourselves to understand what the meaning of the statement is to the other person.”

Dr. Martin Luther King

Understanding does not have limited implications. You can use it in complicated situations and simple matters. It does not assume the wicked face of stereotyping. It treats people like individuals. It allows people to stand apart from generalities and truly be a unique person of interest. You may be generally different than me, but you are also uniquely different, and that is more than okay. It is an opportunity.

Understanding will never be perfect, but it is always more perfect than flying by the cuff. The things that people value cannot always be attributed GENERICALLY to a gender or a race. It can sometimes only be attributed SPECIFICALLY to individuals. Jim has more individuality than just being a man. Sandy has more significance than enjoying receiving gifts. We are all as different as our fingerprints, naturally and positively so.

A week ago we discussed the principle that love is action. How do you know what actions to take? What will dictate you actions toward another? How will you love?

-Strength of GIF

Love Is Action

Love is action.

In this very unsophisticated post, we will discuss the principle that love is action, action inspires feeling, and feeling inspires action. In a perfect world, people act lovingly toward one another. The loving act of an individual produces a feeling of love for that individual and a feeling of being loved for the recipient. Elation and euphoria result, at which moment the loving actions are delivered liberally, back and forth, as the feeling of love inspires. This perpetuates the cycle from which the happiest moments all relationships transpire.

Understandingly, we are not in a perfect world. So, let us discuss what could possibly go wrong.

Each loving action produces a feeling of love that perpetuates the next. Like any natural process, love flourishes on the premise of give and take. This is comparable to how a plant takes carbon dioxide and gives oxygen. A person who acts in a loving way feels love. A person who receives loving actions feels loved.  We prove ignorant of the natural process when we expect to feel love without acting in a loving way. Also, the same is true when we expect to feel loved, without receiving any.

We like to remain addicted to the feeling of love, but force ourselves to abstain from that feeling by refusing to act in a loving way. There are a myriad of reasons for this that transcend the purposes of this post.

For now, consider the ineffective paradigm that has been deeply scripted into our minds for many years:

I feel love when the circumstances are right.

To blame society for our callousness to the feeling of love seems overly simplistic. However, the concept of gaining something without paying the price for that thing is a societal norm. And it is not uncommon for a large part of a population to adopt a societal norm. That is exactly what we have done.

Like using credit, we desire to satiate the addiction of our desires instantaneously, without paying the price now. It does work, in a sense, in the consumer marketplace. BUT, does it really work, or are the costs must greater in the end?

Regardless of what happens in the marketplace, buy now pay later DOES NOT work in any natural system. You cannot harvest a farm, without planting a crop. Furthermore, you cannot make it grow overnight. You must pay the price, and follow the natural laws that have been set forth.

When we expect love to fill our heart and roll off of our tongues, without acting in a loving way, we circumvent the natural process. We reach for the dirt, where no crop has grown. When we see that there is a problem, we find someone to blame. This person is often the person who means the most to us. Consider re-scripting to a better paradigm.

I feel love when I love.

Notice the contentment of doing things how they were intended to be done. The natural law is much less frustrating than the societal norm. You love and you feel love. When you do not feel love, you need only to act in a loving way to regain this wonderful feeling. In this we experience something that is potentially life changing: our feelings serve us. Again, our feelings serve us. A callous feeling towards someone literally speaks to us and tells us that we are not acting lovingly enough toward that person.

Just try it. Act in a way that is loving toward someone. Be honest and wholehearted. What happens? You literally cannot help but to feel love for that person. After all, why would you invest loving action into someone that you do not love? The implications are astounding. Fixed marriages, improved fatherhood and motherhood, improved professional relationships, all result from taking the steps of active loving.

In closing, I would like to relate a story to you about someone I once hated, but came to love. I could not stand this person. I harbored anger and ill will toward this person for several weeks after our first meeting. Subsequently, I began to vocalize this negative sentiment to others, and eventually directly to that person on a consistent basis. This person responded openly with equally unpleasant feelings. For a while, we were content to be discontent with one another. Honest discussion of our discontent for one another was our only solace from it.

At one point, this person asked a favor of me. I regretfully complied with the request and went on about my day. After a few days passed, I noticed that this person required the same favor, but did not ask for it. I went ahead completed this favor, in the same manner as before, without being asked. In fact, I left no evidence that it was me who did it… wanting no gratitude from the person I hated the most.

After a few more days, I noticed that this person was suffering without my favor. So, I willingly and wholeheartedly committed to providing this favor on a daily basis, without being asked, and without seeking notice. What happened was tremendous.

In a few short weeks, all of the ill will had vanished. I had a new respect and deep love of this person. My words of discontent subsided. I even begin defending the person’s controversial actions to others. A deep bond of sacred love had formed out of nowhere.

This is what I hope for each reader. There was so much NOT covered in this brief post, so many questions left unanswered. Let’s discover those answers another time.

Over the next three weeks of this series we will discuss:

Love is understanding.

Love is unconditional.

Love is mutual.

In this way, we will seek to strengthen our most important relationships.

See you next week!

-Strength of GIF

Post questions and comments liberally, Thanks!