The mystery of loving someone starts when we look at them without wanting to own them, without wanting to control them, without wanting to use their gifts or personality in any way—we just look and marvel at the beauty that's been revealed to us. When I find myself face to face with a person whom I see through the eyes of love, I become one with that person, and something common begins between us, a shared life. The perception of a person occurs at a depth that is beyond words, beyond emotions. A believer would say: when I see a person in this light, in the light of pure love, I see in him the image of God, an icon.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh