Love, love, love, love, love

What is love?

Some may say:

Bianca: There's a difference between like and love. Because, I like my Skechers, but I love my Prada backpack.

Chastity: But I love my Skechers.

Bianca: That's because you don't have a Prada backpack. -- 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Or

Oliver Barrett IV: Love means never having to say you're sorry. -- Love Story (1970)

Or

Love is unselfishly choosing for another's highest good-C.S.Lewis

Or

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. - 1 Cor. 13:4-7

For the record, I agree with all of these definitions, except maybe the second, because I think that an important part of love IS recognizing when you were wrong and making amends.

Most of all, to me, love is a verb

Hanging on a wall in my parents' house is a picture of two prairie dogs, one of them seemingly handing the other a flower. The caption reads, "If you love someone, show it!"

Simply saying "I love you" and not acting on it just doesn't cut it. In other words:

Don't tell me you love me; show me that you do.- Omage Jossy

Don't talk of love lasting through time.

Make me no undying vow. Show me now! - Eliza Dolittle (My Fair Lady)

Words are so easy to say, oh ah yeah

You’ve got to show me love - Robin S

Some people do show love through Words of Affirmation. Others through Acts of Service, Quality Time, Physical Affection, or Receiving Gifts. For what it's worth, my love languages are Quality Time first, Receiving Gifts last.

Knowing your love languages and those of the people you love is important, but more important is that you express them and actively love others.

This can and should apply to all flavors of love - family, friends, romantic partners. It's rarely convenient, and sometimes you might feel like you're giving more than you're receiving, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make the effort.

Only love can be divided endlessly and still not diminish. - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

So, get out there, share your love! If you love others, others will love you in return.

Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new. - Ursula K. LeGuin

What does love mean to you?