Love

Practical Home Practices

Published: October 3, 2026 • 2-3 min read

Love [at Home]

noun or verb

“Love means a complex emotional state of strong affection, attachment, and devotion toward another person or thing.” – Merriam Webster Dictionary

Inbound Love

Love is a strong word. Most loosely used in place of a strong like for someone or something, and often fading in memory. The word is usually used without embodying its actual meaning. Yesterday’s love is tomorrow’s been there, done that. “But I thought you loved going there?” “Didn’t you say you loved them? What happened?” The words that cut a little deeper than expected, because we used such a strong word to begin with. Love.

True love doesn’t fade the way we might expect. There’s a reason for this too. There’s a step in the beginning of affection that we sometimes overlook. It’s called Respect, the foundation of Love. Without first having respect for someone or something, it’s difficult for the love to last. Real love is long lasting, because you already respect its continued presence in your life. With self respect in focus, we begin to see self love naturally follows. Love given is love received too. The most love we receive in life is usually associated with our mother or father, brothers and sisters. From family. Or perhaps our significant others. While this is not necessarily wrong, it’s also not necessarily truly correct. The most love we receive actually comes from within. People are there for you sometimes, however, you can always be there for yourself. Self love.

Outbound Love

When we begin with pouring into ourselves first, suddenly the future seems brighter. With our hearts full of respect, we begin to feel our hands fill with the warmth of love. Our eyes soften and horizons widen. Self love is the expression of respect through acts of service and care. When we care about someone or something, we always seem to devote time for that special moment dedicated to them or it. And when we feel taken care of, we have more energy to take care of other people and things in our lives.

Sometimes we really do mean it when we say the word love. But it’s not always easy to keep our word. Things change. Time goes on. We stretch ourselves thin trying to cover more ground than we have energy for. Lessons in love. We learn love really is a strong word in time. It takes patience. It takes practice. Real love takes time. That’s why it’s important to practice self love. When we love ourselves first, our hearts feel full and naturally pours into the other people and things in our life.

Love at Home

Home is a special place for love. It’s your place. It’s where you sleep. According to some statistics, it’s actually where you spend most of your life. While it might seem odd to imagine practicing love or self love while you’re alseep, the act of sleeping is a service of self love. That waking up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed energy. Your mind brimming with bright ideas and the adventures of the day. Being well-rested is just one of the many expressions of self love. Understanding that your body needs rest and devoting enough time for it to be ready when you are.

Practicing love at home may sound silly, but it’s where we do it most. It’s where all the wonderful expressions have the time and space to develop at their own pace. Self love helps prepare us for the journey ahead. In many ways, it’s expressed through practical means. Cleaning ahead of your busiest schedules. Doing all the laundry before your work week takes over. Making sure the dishes are clean before you’re ready to cook and eat. And yet, love at home means so much more than that. When we love ourselves fully, that love flows into everything we do. It helps develop our sense of belonging. We feel much more confident in our purpose. We feel comfortable in our own skin. That love translates into happiness. Happiness within the home begins with love.

Last Edited: October 4, 2026