It seems there is almost an endless variety of synonyms [1] for the word “love” and all of their “lovey-dovy” definitions may be the secret to uncovering the recipe of real love.

Real Love Facet #1: Affection
The facets of real love come in no gospel order, but affection may easily be one of the most valuable initial aspects of love you can feel for your partner. Affection, is defined by dictionary.com [2] as “fond attachment, devotion...” It's easy to deduce fondness since it simply entails “a liking for” and devotion assumes dedication and a wholeness of self. To determine your affection for your romantic partner, ask yourself the following questions:

1) Do you honestly have a liking towards your partner? If not, could you develop one?

2) Do you consider that you could feel a wholeness and offer a sense of wholeness in your relationship? If not, have you thought of ending the relationship?

Real Love Facet #2: Allegiance
The term “allegiance” might seem like an unlikely adjective for the word “love,” but allegiance is nevertheless one of the facets that enriches the concept of real love. One definition for allegiance is “loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, or the like”. The word “loyalty” stands out and refers to a level of faithfulness. Faithfulness can infer that you remain hopeful when your partner makes a mistake, that you do not stray or cheat on your partner and that or that you have faith in your relationship itself. To determine the level of allegiance in your “real love” potentiality, ask yourself the following questions:

1) If my partner makes a mistake or I become angry at my partner, do I stop and find reasons to remain faithfully hopeful that my partner is trying his or her best and that perhaps you should defer your anger until later?

2) Do you find that you find very little faith in the idea that your partner has a desire to change his or negative behavior. Do you think that you can act on the idea that your relationship is healthy and moving in the right direction? If not, do you think you could change that?

Real Love Facet #3: Amorousness
Facet #3, amorousness, can be defined as “inclined or disposed to love, esp. sexual love...” Amorousness is the most dangerous of the love facets and one of the most pleasurable. The current culture of the U.S. and the world in general seems to claim--by example--that amorousness is real love when in reality it is only another facet of real love. The danger of amorousness is that it often is used as an early excuse for the manifestation of real love when in reality it is devoid of the aspects of real love that are meant to come that comes and goes unaccompanied by the other aspects of love which soon follows the meeting of a couple. Even on the first or second date this type of love is considered a common occurrence. However, when it comes to amorousness, the order of the facets is important. Several other aspects of real love should precede amorousness since those facets will strengthen and protect the amorous facet. When amorousness is used for gain without the other aspects of real love it does not end in lasting happiness, joy, productivity or any thing else that might be perceived as positive real love. Ask yourself the following question:

1) Do you support your amorousness with the other facets of real love?

Real Love Facet #4: Cherish
The word “cherish” may often be associated with a typical church wedding ceremony but it's much more than a little word in the marital profession of honor and fidelity. The word cherish represents a very important aspect of real love and can be defined with the words: “to hold or treat as dear.” If you are already married this may seem impossible, especially if your relationship strains at every corner of it's foundation. However, an effort to literally hold your partner or treat that person as dear (or as you would like to be treated) can make a difference.

If your relationship is still strained seek help. Even if your financial funds are low, it is likely that there are programs that are available for your aid. If not, seek the advice of someone you truly admire and try to emulate various facets of the word love. Love like so many aspects of life must find balance on the canvas of applicability.

One color will never suffice.

1 All synonyms for the word “love” were supplied by thesaurus.reference.com.
2 All definitions in this article will be supplied by dictionary.com.