What comes to your mind when you hear the world love?

Is it falling in love, heart break, unrequited love or love at first sight?

I guess yours might be different, but these are the most popular ones that come to mind for the average human.

The idea of love have been centered and confined to romance for ages.

In the movies, books and music, the idea of romantic love takes the front wheel. In fact, no movie production is complete without a little romance infused into it.

It has even been so cheapened it is used for comic relieves in the new movies of our time.

Warring partners could be sparing for a fight to the death and just when nerves has been strained to breaking points in wait for who to throw the fatal punch, Señorita will appear from nowhere to pull one of the men away with a sticky wet kiss. 😌

But I'll say we are lucky. There were times when whole bodies of works were hinged on romantic love : Romeo and Juliet . Bony and Claude. My heart will go on .🤭 Whole bodies.

That's how Eros has worn the crown for years .

I'll be throwing some light on the other forms of love that exist so we can cut Romance some slack

• Eros : This is the kind of love as we all know in romance. It's the kind of love that covers sexual passion or attraction as we have in romantic affairs. It is named after the Greek god of love and desire.

We've all once had this pretty damsel we swore to love. And we've all had this guy that swept us off our feet without trying.

This kind of love involves some really fiery kind of passion. It Rob people of their boundaries and tend to make them become physically and emotionally clingy to the subject of their passion .

It is dangerous as fallouts from unrequited emotions and heartbreak are usually not managed well.

Philia.

This is simply love between friends, colleagues and people you've grown fond of from association or shared experience.

The more people associate, the higher their tendency of developing some kind of deep friendship. This can be referred to as Philia Love.

• LUDUS

There is Ludus, also known as Philia love. I'll describe it as the early stage of romantic love.

• Agape .

This is a selfless kind of love between humans. And also, between God and man ( for the religious).

This kind of love is not selfish, and there is no 'hiden charges' or undisclosed strings attached. It is pure and giving.

Pragma .

This is the love that have stood the test of time . It is the love that have endured many weather due to the conscious decision of the parties involved to be patient with each other, tolerate and forgive to make things work.

Self Love.

Self love, also known as Philautia , is the concept that address the compassion one has for oneself.

It might be positive , as having a high sense of self worth - necessitating the need to care for oneself , or negative, as espoused in narcissists.

I feel nobody can truly love others if they don't love themselves. Nobody gives what they don't have.

Storge is family love. It's that bond siblings share with themselves and parents, vice versa. It also includes extended families and friends who have become family, with time.

The love I have for Arsenal or the love Americans have for their country can also come under this umbrella .

• I'll add Obsessive love.

This kind of love best explains clingy relationships where one person feel he or she is incomplete without the other person. Manic and jealousy go hand in hand with this kind of love.

Phrases like :

No One Can Have You If I Can't , are powered by this kind of love.

These are some kind of love.

I believe there are way more.

And we can do well to add them to the discussion.