Love, noun and verb

1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person
2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend
3. a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart
5. (used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like) Would you like to see a movie, love?
6. affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor.
7. the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.

-Verb
1. to have love or affection for: All her pupils love her.
2. to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).
3. to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music
4. to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight

Owning your body and treating it with respect is a sign of self-love. When making the decision to lose one hundred pounds or more, the original members of Ten Links made the choice to take ownership of their bodies after years of illness, neglect and abuse. Losing weight was finally a chance to respect these bodies and show self-love.

This stronger and improved sense of self-love gave the members the opportunity to obtain more self-control and self-determination in their lives. Every person deserves to love and appreciate him or herself and the difficult task of weight loss/weight maintenance is evidence of this emotion. It’s time for the self-loathing to end and the self-appreciation to begin.

This deep emotional regard is also seen in reference to each member of Ten Links. The members have true affection for each other that allows them to support and truly care for one another. So much so, that they have committed to keep one another accountable and help keep off for life the weight they have all lost.

Ten Links members are truly concerned for the physical, emotional and spiritual well being of each member and there is a strong desire to assist each other in this life long process. Without this personal attachment to each other, the process would not be as successful or meaningful to the members.

Ten Links members do not take or use the term “love� lightly. Growing to love one another can be a lengthy process. Through years of sharing laughter, hard times, hope, faith, crisis and joy, the members bond and grow in appreciation and love for one another. Not all at once, not forced, but as a natural process of the life time commitment they make.

"This is my commandment, that ye love one another." - Jesus, In John 15:12

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

"A friend is someone who knows all about you, and loves you just the same." -  Proverb

"Don't forget to love yourself."  - Soren Kierkegaard