Hmm... Just to chime in too... The kind of love that hurts is the kind where you give but do not receive proportionately in return. But then one can ask, Do we love so that we can love others (i.e. to GIVE)? Or so that we can receive the love back? If its so that we can receive, I think that is why it hurts so much when we do not get it. The best love is the kind that we give when we want nothing in return. :)

Yeah .. I agree with Elliott. Unconditional Love is "true" love, in my opinion. Like when you see a baby and want to hold it and give it love, but don't expect anything in return. Or when you do something nice but anonymously for someone just because you want them to be happier. That's true love. When love is given with the expectation of reciprocation it becomes problematic. Unfortunately, when you combine love with romance, you often mistake one for the other. Romantic love is giving love in the hopes of getting something back. If you keep giving it and the other person doesn't acknowledge it or reciprocate, then you start to feel taken advantage of or that you are wasting your time. But if it was truly unconditional, then that wouldn't be the case. The trick is to find someone you are romantically attracted to that feels the same about unconditionaly giving love to you as you do to them. When you focus on what you get back, then you lose. When you focus on what you are both getting in the relationship then you lose. But if you both focus on the other person's happiness over your own, then you both win.