Give love to get love?

Is it better to love fully and deeply despite the possibility of getting hurt or is it better to guard feelings jealously and only give love away in small fractions but never give it all? I should clarify and state that when I say 'love' I mean it in the most general sense; love for a friend, a family member, another human being even. I don't mean the weak-kneed, heart pounding, butterfly kind of love, but rather a desire to forge a connection with someone. A few experiences have demonstrated to me that it might be wiser to refrain from opening my heart and giving love to get love in return. True, it is foolish to hope for reciprocated sentiments but should it be actively discouraged? Should we deliberately be more suspicious of people and only be courtious to those around us and offer some of our emotions and love to a very select group of people? This would certainly give more value to love acquired from a person of that philosophy. As the old saying goes 'easy come easy go' therefore by extension, whatever comes with difficulty must be worth more.
Perhaps it is fear that keeps most people from ever being able to open themselves up for the kind of love that is so trusting of the basic good in the vast majority of people. A love of man springs from the belief that most people are basically well-intentioned and not out to harm those around themselves. I know that if I had to go back to those points in my life where it might have been wiser to refrain from being so open and loving I wouldn't change anything. I would still open my heart to people because I always think of the archetypal Wise Man. So full of love and compassion and trust; so child-like and innocent, never being jaded by the bad in the world. I know I won't always get the love and connection that I try to make, but at least I made the effort and maybe, just maybe, that person will remember me for it. I think the Beatles said it best "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make". Or think the ending scene in the movie Bugsy Malone; the last chorus was used in a Grand Theft Auto-style Coca-Cola commercial that premeired in the 2007 Super Bowl
"You give a little love
And it all comes back to you
(Da da da ra da da da)
You know you gonna be remembered
For the things you say and do
(Da da da ra da da da)"