So many times, couples sit before me in session, and they repeat one of the main reasons that marriages fall apart, and they head towards divorce. As simple as this may sound, they have stopped expressing their love and appreciation towards each other. This goes a long way, and a lack of it creates distance, resentment, and destroys intimacy. Once those things are lost, they feel there is no way to repair and get back to what once way, but maybe that is not true. Practice making a point of telling your partner daily one thing that you appreciate and love about them. Often they will be surprised, and at a minimum, they are going to soften in their feelings and attitude towards you. I have gathered a list of quotes on love and appreciation to hopefully give you a head start on this process.
1. "To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return."-- Madonna
2. "You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear."-- Oscar Wilde
3. "If a dog can love us unconditionally, why can't we love each other the same way?"-- Carol McKibben
4. "The only way love can last a lifetime is if it unconditional."-- Stephen Kendrick
5. "Love me without restriction. Trust me without fear. Want me without demand. Accept me for who I am."-- Unknown
6. "Because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have."-- Unknown
7. "Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you."-- Bob Marley
8. "I love you without knowing how or when or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride."-- Pablo Neruda
9. "If someone is facing a difficult time, one of the kindest things you can do for him or her is to say, 'I'm going to love you through this.' "-- Molly Friedenfeld
10. "Once you learn to accept and love them for who they are, you subconsciously learn to love yourself unconditionally."-- Yvonne Pierre
11. "I don't want someone who sees the good about me. I want someone who sees the bad and still loves me."-- Unknown
12. "Find a heart that will love you at your worst and arms that will hold you at your weakest."-- Unknown
13. "When someone else's happiness is your happiness. That is love."-- Lana Del Rey
14. In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours, / In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.
Maya Angelou (b. 1928), American author & poet
15. Who, being loved, is poor?
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish writer & poet
16. To be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat.
Joanne Woodward (b. 1930), American actress
17.Happiness is anyone and anything that's loved by you.
Charlie Brown in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)
18. Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), French playwright
19. "Actual love, as in unconditional love, doesn't mean you love everything about the person. It means you don't need them to be different than they are for you to be happy."-- Unknown
20. "I do not want to change anything in you. I love you the way you are."-- Unknown
There are so many pearls of wisdom found within just these handful of quotes, that I can only imagine how much more inspired you could become if you dug deeper. If couples lived by just these simple ideas and principles, many marriages could be saved, lines of communication could be opened, and partners would never have lost that basic foundation of appreciation that is the glue that holds a relationship together. Hopefully these quotes will plant some seeds and inspire you to express your appreciation. Once you have done that, you might be shocked at how the spark can be reignited, and how what you thought was lost, is not as gone as you might think.