How do you distinguish or interpret the difference between being “in-love” and “loving” someone?

AKASH: How do you distinguish or interpret the difference between being “in-love” and “loving” someone?
Is it essentially the same for many people or is there a clear distinction between the two?

If you “fall out of love” with someone, can you still deeply love them and be close to them?

Is it even that important to analyze it so closely or should you just let your feelings happen spontaneously and just go with what feels most natural to you?

Answers and Views:

Answer by n i n a
You can love your mom, but being in love with her is a different story.

Answer by Whiskey Jack
To me “in-love” is a current feeling whereas “loving” is a feeling that could go as far as family members. I suppose the distinction should be clarified between you and that significant other so as not to be confused.

Answer by ?
So many questions, so little time…lol
Yes you can fall out of love with someone and still feel close to them.
And there is a distinction between loving and in-love if its a family member or friend and not a gf/bf.
Love doesn’t need an analysis, it shows, or you feel it.

Answer by Denise W
This is how I define it for myself

I love my children, my life wouldn’t be the same with out them. But one day they will grow up and have a family of their own and their lives will divide from mine.
Im in love with my husband and I couldn’t live without him, and our lives will in-twined forever.
I think that even if we were to divorce I would love him for the rest of my life, we have shared so many moments together I couldn’t imagine us not having some type of relationship.
I believe in going with the flow, love is something from our heart and as much as we would like to have it controlled, that is impossible.

Answer by destroyed
erm i don’t know how to put in words but i’ll give it a go….. erm… loving someone is like being emotionally attached to them… you care about them and it’s hard to live without them… like parents… you love them alot but not in love with them…. but being in love with someone is different.. you love them in a different way.. i don’t know how to explain…

Answer by † ệňїġmă ♥
‘destroyer’ above, has given you the answer 🙂

Answer by SophiaSeeker
Think of one person being an enclosed-circle and the other person being the one trying to find its center: roughly like this @ google-images:

https://www.data-miners.com/blog/uploaded_images/two-circle-venn-770795.jpg

1) Being [in love] is when one activelly seeks and is mutually-allowed to access the Circle { the portion that is common to both circles of ‘A’ & ‘B’ in diagram of link-above } .

2) [Loving] on the other hand is Person ‘A’ mutually allowing such [Access] to take place { Circle ‘A’ portion of the diagram at link above } .