What Is Love, Anyway?

I’m ultimately fascinated with the concept of love and how it means different things to different people.

When love exists, we’re elated and look forward to more experiences that bring us closer to those wonderful feelings. When ripped from us, we feel a great loss and wonder when it will come back into our lives. Some wonder if they’ve ever actually felt love or when that magic moment will happen to them, especially in the context of a relationship. Craving these types of feelings can lead us to actively search them out. This noble quest may lead us to feel that without love, our lives aren’t complete. Because of this, many end up settling for what’s available instead of waiting for something fantastic to develop over the course of time. This feeling can also lead us to jump from one relationship to another, looking for an individual who has the potential to fulfill us. The beautiful concept of love can turn ugly quickly if it is with the wrong person or situation.

Some seem to have a consistent flow of relationships that come on strong, envelop their world, then crash to a fiery death just as quickly as they formed. Facebook posts are created soon after a series of initial dates with some vague update about how amazing life can be. The comments begin to flow about how much they’ve fallen in love and now they’re laying on the couch currently watching how cute their new guy looks while drooling on a pillow. Many times, these only go on for a few weeks or months before their wonderment magically transforms into devastation.

Sometimes relationships appear to be a beautiful exchange of passion that will seemingly never end. Over a short amount of time, however, promises made become less likely to be fulfilled, and we’re left wondering what happened. Maybe we haven’t taken the time to get to know the other person well enough or have not adequately expressed our hopes and expectations for the relationship. Of course, actions speak much louder than words. When people don’t follow through or act in contrary ways to how they promise to behave, we’re left feeling disappointed or angry. There are also times when these situations become uncomfortable or abusive, sometimes so subtly we don’t even recognize it.

Some use this word to describe a concept they may not completely understand or think sounds like a nice thing to say without considering the ramifications. Other times, people get “addicted” to the newness of an initial relationship or see them as a means to get what they want. Although not always a conscious decision, these situations generally end poorly for both parties.

My intention isn’t to cast a dark cloud over the topic of love in relationships. The accurate use of this word is a fantastic way to describe the emotional, physical, intellectual, social, or moral connection between people. Our relationships exist to help give our lives meaning by creating opportunities to explore things, which make us smile and motivate us to continue creating a life we love living. Don’t allow anyone to take this this beautiful word and mutate it into something hurtful and negative.