The only way to know for sure, Dear One, what love really is, is to experience it for yourself. It is not something that you can learn, that you can come to truly understand from a book, a song, a movie, a poem, or a class.

And the best way to do that, to have a truly authentic experience of love, is to love yourself, purely, totally, completely, and unconditionally. That means  thinking, speaking, and acting lovingly towards yourself, all the time.

Do that, know that experience, give yourself the experience of knowing what unconditional love looks, feels, sounds, smells, and tastes like, and you will never again have to ask yourself or anyone else the question ‘Is this love?’, because you will know.

You will then know from firsthand experience what true love feels like, so you will be able to recognize if what you are feeling for them is love, and Dear One, you will know how to recognize if they are truly loving you in return.