On love........................................

Love and relationships are the ends—everything else is just the means.  We, as a species, segment love.  When we are young, we take in love—our parents', teachers', caregivers'.  When we enter adulthood, we find transactional love;  we love others in exchange for something in return—their love, security, or intimacy.  Then there's complete love, surrendering to loving someone regardless of whether they love you back, or whether you get anything in return, for that matter.  No conditions, no exchange, just a decision to love this person and focus solely on their well-being.
     Love received is comforting, love reciprocated is rewarding, and love given completely is eternal.

-Scott Gallowy,  The Algebra of Happiness:  Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning