"Love"

LOVE?

Define love?

Who do you love?

What do you love?

How do you love?

Why do you love?

Do you want Love?

Do you need love?

Have you ever been in Love?

What is Love?

Who do I love?

I share a deep and sacrificial love with my spouse, the love of my life. And still the love for my spouse does not compare to the all consuming love I have for my children. Silly me, I thought I could love nothing more than I love my children, until I had grandchildren! I believe most would agree that the love between grandparents and grandchildren is a special love of it's own. I love my parents with a love that is a bit entitled, they have proven their love for me to be unconditional, in turn, I am secure in this love.

I love my siblings, each love evokes varied feelings, yes, I love them for many different reasons and I have to admit I love some at an emotional level not the same as others. I would never openly express this to them, especially my sisters, who for lack of a better description, are drama queens! Love between siblings is individual to each, the love for my sisters is not the same as the love for my brothers, no more and no less, It's different, not sure why, but it is.

I love my friends and they me. I love many with a love that has transformed them into family. The love between friends is never forced, in it's infancy, it flows freely, and life long loving friendships are made. I value the love of my friends. As I do all my loving relationships.

I have loved at a romantic level many times in my life. most of these loves enriched my life and taught me what it is to love and what it is not. A few left me broken, my heart a crumpled mess, tossed to the floor to be trampled upon. I knew I would never fully recover, for the most part I was right. I would not change a thing, for is it not better to have loved than to not have loved at all?

What do I love?

I love my pets, they are family. I love music, many a song has taken me on a journey were I find myself experiencing the same emotions I feel when I am in love. I love the rain, traveling, sunsets, cheesecake, baby breath, flowers, fishing, water falls, puppies, snow days, camp fires, bubble baths, a good book, a long nap, his breath on my neck, candy, hot bread, presents, soft scents, girls night out, laughter, cuddling, cocktails, reality tv, football, summer time, new shoes, pot-roast, weekends, holidays, ice cream, sleeping in, coffee, creamer! And more!

Love?

There's unconditional love, conditional love, addictive love, true love, false love, pure love, crazy love, one love, controlling love, free love, dirty love, jealous love, lost love, love at first sight, recreational love, love that heals, love that costs, love that hurts, love that's meant to be, bitter love, blind love, passionate love, puppy love, love that binds, strange love, sweet love, twisted love, bitter love, fake love, real love, your love, my love, more love, and each is felt at different levels and evokes a multitude of emotions, which are not felt the same in everyone.

You can fall in love, or out of love, give love, receive love, share love, spread the love, make love, pour out your love, speak love, deny love, shower others with love, hide love, expose love, grieve love, feel the love, sing a love song, write a love story, love others, love your country, love your God, love your neighbor, love yourself, and love your life.

What is love?

Love is complex and un-inhibited, to compare one loving relationship to another is futile. Love is a life giving force, without love babies fail to thrive and many die in infancy, those who do not, most times suffer life long disabilities and never reach their full potential. Without love marriages fail ending in divorce. Without love children feel lost and without purpose to succeed. Without love young adults seek attention good or bad and many times end up incarcerated, only to become institutionalized. Without love neighbors isolate, communities dissipate, and wars escalate. and what's the fate of one who who has not received love? To find that they have become bitter and cold and alone.

Imagine a life without love, do you even want to? No! Love will take you to places you never thought you could go without ever leaving your home. And sadly love can take you were you wish you had never been.

I find it an unattainable goal to purpose to unravel something so complex that its definition leads you to define another concept, which in part, makes up of it's whole. Love touches everything in life, for in everything there is love.

As the late great Tina Turner said "What's love got to do with it?" and to her I say "everything!"