TO LIKE - TO WANT - TO LOVE

TO LIKE

(From the Latin gustāre.)

1. To feel, to perceive the taste of things.
2. To experiment (to test).
3. Please, look good.
4. Said of one person: To be attractive to another.

(Royal Spanish Academy of Language dictionary)

Example:

I like helping others.

TO WANT

(From the Latin quaerĕre 'seek', 'ask for'.)

To want is the desire to possess something,
to get something for yourself,
it is trying to own someone,
to pretend to fill a gap that you can not fill by yourself.

Example:

I want a bicycle.

TO LOVE

(From the Latin amāre.)

To love is to give, to understand,
to wish the happiness of the other person,
without expecting anything in return.

In Buddhism, we also find this reflection,
which tells us that when we want a flower,
we plucked it to carry it with us,
but when we really love that plant,
what we will do is water it constantly,
in order to make its life lasting and happy.

The following scene is taken from the literary work The Little Prince,
recreated by Viviano Baldo.

I love you, said the little prince.

I love you too, said the rose.

It’s not the same, he replied.
To want is to take possession of something, of someone.
It is to seek in others that what fills the personal expectations
of affection, of companionship.
To want is to make ours what does not belong to us.
It’s owning us or wanting something to complement us,
because at some point we recognize ourselves as lacking.
To want is to wait, is to cling to things and people
from our needs then
when we do not have reciprocity there is suffering,
when the good beloved does not reciprocate us
we feel frustrated and disappointed.
If I want someone, I have an expectation, I expect something,
If the other person doesn’t give me what I expect, I suffer.
The problem is that there is a greater probability
that the other person has other motivations
for we are all very different,
every human being is a universe,
to love is to wish the other all the best,
even if he has very different motivations.

To love is to allow you to be happy,
even if your path is different from mine.
It’s an unselfish feeling,
is to give oneself completely from the heart,
for this love will never be a cause of suffering.

When a person says he has suffered for love,
In fact, he has suffered because he wanted, not because he loved.
You suffer from clingings. If you really love,
you can not suffer, for you have expected nothing from the other.
When we love, we surrender without asking for anything in return,
for the simple and pure pleasure of giving.

But it is also true that this surrender, this uninterested giving
is only given under knowledge,
we can only love what we know,
because to love means to throw oneself into the void,
to trust life and soul, and the soul is not compensated.
And to know oneself is just to know about yourself, your joys,
about your peace, but also about your anger. about your struggles, about your error,
because love transcends anger, struggle, error,
and it’s not just for moments of joy,
loving is the full confidence that whatever happens
you are going to be, not because you owe me anything, not with selfish possession,
but to be in silent company.
To love is to know that time does not change you,
neither storms nor winters.

To love is to give you a place in my heart,
so that you will remain as father, mother, brother,
son, friend and knowing that in your things, there is a place for me.

I understood!, said the rose.

Do not understand it, live it!, answered the little prince.

"There are people who offer you the stars,
and others that lead you to them." Mario Benedetti,
That’s the difference between who wants and who loves.

Example:

"I love you," said the little prince to the rose.

Other related articles:

http://whatistolove.com/art/el-gusto-el-querer-y-el-amor/