How do I know that true love exists?

 I have seen very few but very special relationships in my life that have given me the hope to believe in true love. I have also seen relationships that simply don’t work.

What is Love?

This is a question that has been explored by philosophers and poets, and almost everyone else as well, for as long as humans have been around.
Love can be defined as a strong bond between people. There are many types of love: brotherly love, motherly love, love for pets, love for activities or places, and everyone’s favorite- romantic love. The purpose of this article is to focus solely on romantic love between two people. Romantic love will be defined as a profoundly tender, passionate for another, including sexual desire and passion. Dictionary. com separates the first part and the sexual part. I found this interesting. Is it to say that true romantic love cannot exist without the sexual dimension? I think it can, especially when the couple may not physically be able to make love. But the sexual part takes the emotional, psychological and spiritual love to another level; the physiological level. Sex alone though is not love. This should be obvious. It can be the thing that makes you smile in the morning or the thing that makes you cry at night. A deep, true love can be something that is bigger than obsession, a deeper connection with another human being in which we can share our whole selves with the other person; our likes and dislikes, passions, fears, memories (happy and sad), dreams, and spend quality time with each other.

Love is NOT lust, obsession, a competition, or a game. When it starts feeling like this it is a sign that it may just be one of these things and not true, deep love. A quote I read the other day really struck my mind: “We desire what we know will not last, but we love only those things which are eternal.” It was not credited to anyone and a Google search turned up nothing, but what matters here is the message. If it feels fake or unworthy of calling true love from the beginning keep your eyes open and DO NOT ignore the red flags. Remember these words and tell yourself whenever you need to be reminded: It is better to be alone than in bad company. While it is true that any relationship needs compromise and work, there are limits. If you feel like you are not happy or not being your true self, these are major signs that there is trouble. One of the signs I have had in a past relationship was that a good friend of mine pointed out that every time I was asked about my girlfriend that my face and voice tone changed. It took a friend pointing it out to make me realize that I was in an unhealthy and unhappy relationship.

source http://tasboy.com/how-do-i-know-that-true-love-exists-4/