A lot of times, in our culture and our society, we put romantic

Hear the luminous wisdom of Delilah, the voice of comfort and compassion, who once said: “A lot of times, in our culture and our society, we put romantic love somehow on a higher plane than self-love and friendship love. You can’t do that. You have to honor and really fully invest in all these different loving relationships.” These words, though spoken softly, ring like a timeless bell across the ages. They are a reminder that love is not one thing, but many — that it flows through the human heart in countless forms, and that to exalt one while neglecting the others is to live only a fraction of life’s fullness.

Delilah, the beloved radio host whose voice has consoled millions, has long listened to the stories of love in all its shades — its joy, its heartbreak, its longing, and its renewal. Her insight springs not from theory but from experience: she has witnessed the ways people idolize romantic love while starving the soul of other kinds of affection that are just as vital — the love of a friend, the love of a child, and perhaps most sacred of all, the love one holds for oneself. Her words carry the wisdom of one who knows that when love is placed upon a pedestal, it ceases to be balanced; it becomes an idol, and in worshipping one form of love, we lose sight of the divine in all others.

In the philosophy of the ancients, the Greeks gave language to this truth. They spoke of eros, the passionate fire of romance; of philia, the noble love of friendship; and of agape, the boundless love that embraces all creation. Yet they also spoke of philautia — the love of self, not in vanity, but in wholeness. For how can one love another deeply if one has not first embraced one’s own worth? To the wise, love is a circle, not a ladder. Its strength lies in its balance. When Delilah calls us to “honor and invest” in all forms of love, she reminds us to tend this circle — to water every garden of the heart, not just the one that blooms with romance.

Consider the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman who stood tall in an age that often sought to silence her. Her marriage was complex and often strained, but her strength did not come from romantic love alone — it came from her friendships, her self-respect, and her service to humanity. She built relationships of purpose and compassion, drawing strength from every bond, not just the one sanctioned by society. It was this tapestry of love — of friends, of cause, of self — that sustained her through loss and loneliness. She proved that a life rooted in many loves is a life unshakable, for it draws nourishment from more than one source.

Delilah’s words also challenge the illusion sold by modern culture — that romantic love is the ultimate fulfillment, the final proof of worth. How many hearts have broken not from love’s absence, but from its imbalance? We see people abandon themselves to the pursuit of another’s affection, forgetting that to love another well requires first the grounding of self-love. We see friendships wither when romance enters, as though one kind of love must eclipse another. Yet the wise know: love does not compete with itself. It multiplies. To honor friendship is not to diminish romance; to care for oneself is not to reject others — it is to keep the heart strong enough to hold them all.

The ancients would have called this balance the mark of a virtuous life. For the soul that honors all loves lives in harmony with nature’s design. The river of affection that flows from the self outward must never be dammed nor narrowed. It must flow freely — from self-love into friendship, from friendship into romance, and from romance back into compassion for the world. To neglect one stream is to dry the others; to nourish them all is to live abundantly, without fear of loss, for the heart will always find replenishment in one love when another fades.

The lesson, then, is clear: do not crown one kind of love above all others. Honor your friendships; they are the steady flame that warms the long nights. Cultivate self-love; it is the hearth from which all affection burns bright. Cherish romance, but do not let it blind you to the other lights that guide your way. Love is not a single path — it is a constellation. Walk beneath all its stars, and your life will be full of radiance.

So, dear listener, remember Delilah’s gentle commandment: invest in every form of love. Speak kindly to yourself as you would to a dear friend. Keep close those who lift your spirit. When you find romance, greet it with joy — but never let it define your worth. For in the end, a heart that loves in many directions shines like the sun: steady, generous, and eternal — giving warmth not to one, but to the whole world.