Ahh, it pains to be unloved is more the truth. To be truly loved is life-giving. I am sure you know the study of the orphan children who were not picked up, held or loved and even though they were fed and clothed and sheltered, they died. A fundemental need, love is - and no not painful. Painful is passion and obsession and infatuation for these will not and can not last, and when confused with love it only causes heartbreak. The truest love of all is from a parent to a child and those of us who have experienced that are the most blessed, wouldn't you agree JenH?