No matter how you define love, most agree that love - in it's truest sense - is a gift. 
Life begins with love, a gift grown from the most intimate expression of love. We receive love as children from our family as they care for us and nurture us. We receive love from those in our lives who care for us and "will the good for us" by teaching, coaching, and mentoring us. 

We are created with a natural need to receive love from others but we are also created with a natural instinct to give love to others.  The more love is poured into us from others, the greater our ability to, in turn, pour love out to others. 
 
Our ability to give love starts with a sincere desire to will the good for another - whether it be a family member, friend, mentor, or even a stranger or other forms of love. 

It becomes easier to give love to others when we have a good foundation of who we are in our whole sense - our talents, personalities, thoughts and feelings - but also with an awareness and a genuine respect and appreciation for who others are as whole persons.  

When we are able to fully receive love and fully give love, love becomes a beautiful giving and receiving of oneself to another. 

This week we're celebrating love with our "Love Is...V-Day Giving Day" appeal. 
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​Pure & Simple Truth for Youth, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization. We believe youth deserve the truth about love by learning about whole-person identity, healthy relationships and sexual integrity. Help us bring this message to youth, families and communities and partner with us today!

In our Truth for Youth retreats with middle school and high school students, we share the truth about whole-person identity, healthy relationships, and sexual integrity.

With each of those topics, we talk about love - love for who they are, love for others, and what love and sex have to do with each other (or not). 
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We use the wise and simple words of Thomas Aquinas (Catholic theologian and philosopher of the 1200's) to introduce what love is: 

To love is to will the good of the other.

To love means you want all that is "good" for someone else. We, humans, are created with an innate desire and need to give good to others. This willing the good love is seen in families who care for each other by providing for their physical needs of food, water, shelter and comfort.

​Love is actualized when strangers step out and help someone in need to bring something good to their life.

This love is seen in friends who support each other with encouraging words and listening ears.

Couples love each other truly when they will the good for each other by respecting each other's whole-person, including their emotional and physical needs, even putting their own needs or desires aside for the good of the other. 

Where do you see this "willing the good for the other" love in your life?

This week we're celebrating love with our "Love Is...V-Day Giving Day" appeal.
​Pure & Simple Truth for Youth, Inc. believes youth deserve the truth about love by learning about whole-person identity, healthy relationships and sexual integrity. Help us bring this message to youth, families and communities and partner with us today!

Love is...
How would you answer that? 
For some, love is an emotion or a feeling; for others it's something you do or have.  
Over human history many great philosophers have pondered this same question and ancient Greek philosophers broke love down into seven "kinds". 

• Eros: Passionate love, especially a love of the body. Eros was the name of the Greek god of sensual or sexual love.
• Philia: Friendship
• Ludus: Playful love., friendly teasing or casual flirting
• Pragma: Mature, Longstanding love
• Philautia: Love for oneself
• Storge: Love for a child.
• Agape: Selfless love, Agape was later translated into Latin as caritas, which is the origin of our word “charity.”

In other words, Love can take on many forms such as with family, friends, and romantic love. Each kind of love plays an important part in each of our lives and in our society. Yet, Love cannot really be defined in any one word or even in seven or simply be reduced to fleeting emotions, physical attractions, or even actions. Love, in it's full essence, is a gift - the most important gift we an receive and the most important give we can give. 

​Where do you see love in your life?

This week we're celebrating love with our "Love Is...V-Day Giving Day" appeal.
​Pure & Simple Truth for Youth, Inc. believes youth deserve the truth about love by learning about whole-person identity, healthy relationships and sexual integrity. Help us bring this message to youth, families and communities and partner with us today!