What’s LOVE got to do with it?
According to my recent Twitter poll, 60% of the people polled saw the word ‘love” as a verb while the other 40% saw it as a noun. The truth is, it is both. LOVE is one of the most basic human feelings but one of the most complex concepts for us to understand.
Most people today use the word to describe the feeling that is expressed toward another person. Many people will tell their partners or loved ones “I love you” without giving much thought to what they are actually saying. It becomes a term that is used when you feel affection or desire for someone romantically and with long term relationships; can become something that you feel obligated to say.
When we are born, our caregiver is the one who shows us our first image of what “love” should be. If you have come from a stable home that was nurturing then you will see “love” as something familiar, safe, comfortable, doting, and selfless. On the other hand, if the actions of those who were supposed to care for you were not portrayed in such a way, then your concept of “love” will be misconstrued.
Since “love” is a feeling and a basic human need that we seek out, as adults we carry what we have learned as children on to our mature relationships. So with the understanding that “love” is not only a feeling that you have for others but also the actions that you take with those you care for, then you must understand that this is a case where “actions speak louder than words”.
“Love” is also not something that can be held to just the notion of two people, a partnership, or whatever society has defined as a so-called relationship. Many people feel deep connection with other people, places, and things. These are also forms of “love” that should not be diminished or dismissed. You do not have to be physically or sexually intimate to show “love” for another. You can be emotionally, experientially, and intellectually intimate and still feel a strong sense of “love”.
When it comes to “love” it is time that we as a people realize that we cannot put such elementary definition on such a complex notion. We as humans are complicated creatures with amazing minds which control everything around us. We must be open to new ideas and new ways of communicating with each other. If we are going to express more “love” for everyone and everything then we have to understand that we cannot control it or define it in such a simple fashion.
“Love Begins at Home. It is not how much we do but how much love we put in that action.” -Mother Teresa
“Love.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/love. Accessed 28 Sep. 2020.
