Love Is?

Since the inception of the word, Love, has caused chaos, confusion, consternation, and contentment. How is it possible that so few letters aligned into a single word can result in so much alliteration? This article is being presented, under the yoke of high hope, to provide an answer to that question just asked. Seeing  as English is historically a multilingual word salad, the root of the word must be taken note of. It seems that the word 'lufu', from the Germanic, is the best source for the word love. The Italian word 'amore', which typically is translated to mean love, is the root of the English word 'amorous'; trust the British to conflate  ideas of sex and love. Hence the need to sort this out; the dictionary definition seems to include a hyperbolic option to save many people the effort of saying 'really really like'. 

For example, during the winter months there are many people who wander about the City of Toronto wearing the jersey of the Maple Leafs because they love the Maple Leaf hockey team; yet there is a caveat. Once the Maple Leafs stop winning these people move loving onto another team and after that team is forced out those same people pick the next lovable jersey to be pulled from the closet. How can a listener to the phrase, 'I love the Leafs', assume any honesty in such a situation of preferential shifting? The most honest statement in all of the discussions above, is 'I really really like hockey and I will cheer for those whom I feel will win.' People will wear the jersey and cheer on the team of the day so they can be part of the winning team in a game they can't play. 

Now that the over simplification has been dealt with; the next position to be addressed is caring. It is said that caring is an expression of Love. Yet there are many who contribute to charity for people they have never met; where is the chance for Love in such a situation? This portion of this article does not attempt to deny that caring need be exempted from Love in general; it points out that just because someone presents care or an act of caring it, can be done without Love as the driver. Moving on with this point, most of the people who claim love will also exhibit caring. 

Tolerance, forgiveness and redemption are other hallmarks of Love. There must be an emotional investment for some to be on the receiving end of an oops and allow for that oops to be stepped over, accepted, recognized and discussed. This author, through personal experience, learned that finishing other people's sentences creates two side effects. Those sides effects being: a) one cuts off the other person which hurts their feelings and b) a predisposition to the conclusion that sinks in as the other person's idea. Learning to listen provides a form of respect for the other and that too is a portion of Love. 

The Greek god Eros, known to the Romans as Cupid, was the assignment of the sensual/sexual attraction that confused so many people who came before us. This is the one aspect of Love that many people seem to fucking enjoy a lot. Cupid is recognized once a year, on Valentines' day, and the asteroid named Eros comes close the Earth once every 44 years. That being said, the sensual/sexual is not a significant aspect of love and in certain circumstances it is seriously discouraged; elsewhere though it is essential. 

Relevant to a non-genetic relationship, the discouragement of sex has become understood as an lowering indicator of Love or in the least of emotional entanglement. As the years pass and bodily hormones change the longevity of participation takes precedent as 'the presentation' wanes and is superseded by the substance of the invested time. It is noted and understood by this author that there is an opportunity cost experienced by those who wait, and that those eventual costs will always be realized. 

This philosophical exploration/diatribe on Love is now being changed from seeking a destination to understanding a journey. 

Shifting tact now, the original destination of this article was intended to be a search for a finite definition for the emotion known as Love. Love, or being in Love, or having Love for someone can not defined as a steady state of being. Love is an amorphous term with a broad range of understandings, most of which are more flexible than the length of a cubit; Love is more like a river that ebbs and flows depending on the terrain that surrounds it. Sticking with the water ideal; Bruce Lee once said about martial arts - 'You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup.' 

In closing, make Love shapeless and formless and yourself the cup such that you may never thirst for it. Additionally remember, water can always be poured into another cup for the purpose of sharing.