I've been thinking a lot about love these past few weeks.

Love is one of the most powerful forces in this world. People are willing to do just about anything in the name of love, love can and does make people crazy in ways they never dreamed.

Most people have been hurt by love at least once in their lives, yet go on to face the risks again and again, no matter how painful love can be when it goes wrong, love is still worth the risks.

We all have our own ways of defining love, but one of the largest difficulties in defining love is that love is not one concept but a cluster of many concepts.

Trust, honesty, intimacy, compassion, respect, these are all parts of love, but there are many, many more things that go into our own personal definitions of love. Our definitions of love begin developing from the moment our lives begin. Others model love for us, and we respond in kind.

It's no wonder then that some of our definitions of love hardly resemble love at all. Concepts such as trust, honesty, intimacy, compassion, and respect, should be a large part of any definition of love but all too often we have developed definitions that don't just minimize those important traits but leave them out entirely.

Trust

Trust is the foundation of every relationship, if the foundation is shaky then the whole relationship will follow suit. If you don't or can't trust your partner or they can't trust you then your relationship will eventually crumble.

Honesty

Life is too short to be dishonest. Lies and omissions can and will destroy relationships. If you are in a relationship where you or your partner fears being honest, then it is time to reevaluate your views on relationships as a whole.

Intimacy

Intimacy is a difficult subject for many people. When we fear intimacy we surround ourselves with walls. We assure ourselves that those walls are there to protect us, to keep ourselves safe but those walls also isolate us and keep us from living life to its fullest.

Compassion

Compassion requires not only recognizing, but understanding the suffering of others, it requires a desire to alleviate that suffering whenever possible. In a relationship, when your partner suffers you feel their pain to some extent, and love means doing something about that pain even if it is just finding a way to cheer them up, allowing them to cry on your shoulder, or buying them their favorite take-out.

Respect

Respect for others is becoming rather uncommon these days, but the amount of respect you hold for others often mirrors the respect you have (or lack) for yourself. Respect is essential to the healthy functioning of all relationships.

Many of us focus on giving those things to others but giving should be well balanced with receiving. Our definitions of love are bound to be as individual as we are, but these 5 ingredients are great stepping stones to defining healthy relationships.