The landscape of this planet is filled with so many people speaking so many different languages. If you’ve ever watched a foreign film and felt that you could almost understand the words without the subtitles, or you may wonder if you were suddenly stranded in that country, if could you communicate. Other languages seem completely out of the realm of comprehension, words that resemble primal grunts or the sounds you’d hear when you stub your toe. To quote one of my favorite movies (The Princess Bride), “Inconceivable.”
Similarities can be drawn when it comes to the languages of love. You may have heard the theories that there are different ‘love languages’ that people have when they communicate. Back in 1992, Author and therapist, Gary Chapman identified the FIVE love languages:
Words of affirmation
Quality time
Receiving gifts
Acts of service
Physical touch
Years later, he added a sixth language to the mix, Distance. This is the one that may have sounded like incomprehensible or counterintuitive to our notions of love, but I completely understand the need for space and inner stillness.
This exercise is simple. Think of someone you love (or yourself) and try on a new love language in your interactions with them. Test-drive this new love language with a gesture or a date or a massage or by leaving them the fuck alone. You can also ask someone to test-drive a new love language with you. There’s no wrong answer, just the intention to express love.
