Love & love
The first thing to do is differentiate these two things.
Romantic or emotional love is an attachment to another person, animal or thing and it is always conditional. We love our children because they are our children ('our' being the possessive attachment). We don't love all children. If we loved all children we would love everyone in the world because everyone is somebody's child. It is like this with everything we have an attachment to.
Loving Kindness or Universal love is an unconditional acceptance of beings as they are in this moment. It makes no demands or conditions about the relationship it is experiencing. It accepts completely the reality of the event.
The difference between the two is enormous. The first takes us only to unhappiness as the conditions we apply to the universe always fail to meet our expectations. The second takes us to peace and the understanding of liberation. Things are as they are and although we may be part of that, the universe manifests beyond our control or conditions.
So, in the environment of Loving Kindness our partner, children or friend (for example) are free to do anything that they want in any moment. This is how loving kindness works, by not applying conditions to a relationship.
However, in the romantic or emotional area of love there is always a consequence to that action.
In short the two forms of love work like this.
You are free in any and every moment to do anything that you want to do, but you will have to meet the consequence of that in our exclusive relationship.
What I have presented here is only the outline of the power of Loving Kindness. The truth is that the moment we understand what love really is and then stop applying conditions to life, everything changes and you become happier as life and everything it contains stops disappointing you.
It is better to give love than to need it, only take care that what you are giving really is love and not only more conditions on life.
May all beings be happy.
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