The song “Love is a Rose” by Neil Young has always been one of my favorites.  I mention it now because of a truth that it speaks to me.  The song begins, “Love is a rose, but you better not pick it.  It only grows when it’s on the vine.  Handful of thorns and you’ll know you’ve missed it.  You lose your love when you say the word mine.” 

Love is indeed like a rose.  As a verb, love connotes action.  When the action ceases, the love dies. In other words, love must be maintained in order for it to survive.

For many of us who are in committed relationships, the love that we feel wanes from time to time.  For some, the love may have even diminished entirely.  So what can we do to strengthen our love, or bring it back from the dead, so it can maintain its full bloom?  For an answer, look back to the last line of the song verse above. “You lose your love when you say the word mine.”

As long as you act selfishly, the love you seek will elude you. If you really love your partner, or want to love them, begin to act selflessly for them.  Plan a date that they will want to do.  Leave the last piece of desert for them.  Offer to give them a back massage or foot rub.  Like water and sun to a rose, selfless acts of kindness will nourish the love in your relationship and help it to blossom.