Liebe, amore, agape, الحب, Любов, 爱, l'amour...
Love.
love
[luhv] noun, verb, loved, lov⋅ing.
a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
That's how the dictionary defines love. But is love always tender? Can't it also be vigorous, hurtful, agonizing or maybe even a little wild? Is there any true definition of love? Does everyone feel the same kind of love?
In movies, love is always the same: That can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of thing. Boys meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl falls in love with boy, a little trouble, a little passion, some doubt - but in the end, they're always together. And at the end of the movie, you're always left sighing and wondering, "Will I ever find that perfect love?"
The answer to that question is quite simple: No.
Movies represent what COULD happen, but never what really happens. Sure, you COULD bump into a stranger in the supermarket, drop some groceries, get to chatting, fall madly and deeply in love and live happily ever after...but chances are, it won't happen like that. Instead, you might bump into a friendly stranger in the supermarket, drop something, laugh about it for a moment and then go your separate ways.
Maybe you'll meet the person again in the supermarket, only this time, you don't bump into each other and drop something, you joke about it. And then that joke might escalate into doing your shopping together. And then afterwards, you'll both go to your cars and drive home, thinking about the previous half hour and smiling. And maybe it'll happen again. And again. And again, until finally, one of you decides that they'll get the courage to ask the other out. And then the shopping dates turn into dinner dates. And the dinner dates turn into a relationship. And the relationship turns into love. And that love might turn into marriage and children and whatnot.
But I wouldn't recommend flirting with the first person you bump into in a supermarket. Chances are, they'll think you're just a little desperate.
Love doesn't happen in a millisecond. Love at first sight is a wash. Love takes time, feeling and hope. Lots and lots of hope that one day you really will find that special person and fall in love. There are no particular rules when it comes to love. Love can happen anywhere, any time, any place. It doesn't always make itself known right away. Sometimes it even shows up after it's too late to do anything about it. Love can be wicked and cruel. Love can torture your heart and break your soul in half. You can love from afar, you can love the person sitting right next to you in class. You can love your best friend and you can love your worst enemy.
There are no limits. Love can make you promise to give someone the moon. Love can make you do stupid things. Love can make you want to kill yourself. Love can be the most important thing in your life. Love is the most powerful emotion a person can feel. Some people even say it's like a drug. Or, as Bette Midler would say,
"Some say love it is a river
that drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed."
Love is a different feeling for everyone. Like in the Harry Potter books, the strongest love potion, Amortentia, gives off a different scent to every person who smells it, according to what attracts them. Rowling also makes it clear that that potion is very dangerous, another adjective you could use to describe love.
If you asked two completely different people what love feels like, you'll get two completely different answers. Like snowflakes, no two loves are the same.
So can we define love? As a "profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person"? Or can we only say that love is a powerful kind of magic that rests deep in our hearts and blooms when we've found the right person?
Well, that's the beauty of magic: It's a very old secret.
[luhv] noun, verb, loved, lov⋅ing.
a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
That's how the dictionary defines love. But is love always tender? Can't it also be vigorous, hurtful, agonizing or maybe even a little wild? Is there any true definition of love? Does everyone feel the same kind of love?
In movies, love is always the same: That can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of thing. Boys meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl falls in love with boy, a little trouble, a little passion, some doubt - but in the end, they're always together. And at the end of the movie, you're always left sighing and wondering, "Will I ever find that perfect love?"
The answer to that question is quite simple: No.
Movies represent what COULD happen, but never what really happens. Sure, you COULD bump into a stranger in the supermarket, drop some groceries, get to chatting, fall madly and deeply in love and live happily ever after...but chances are, it won't happen like that. Instead, you might bump into a friendly stranger in the supermarket, drop something, laugh about it for a moment and then go your separate ways.
Maybe you'll meet the person again in the supermarket, only this time, you don't bump into each other and drop something, you joke about it. And then that joke might escalate into doing your shopping together. And then afterwards, you'll both go to your cars and drive home, thinking about the previous half hour and smiling. And maybe it'll happen again. And again. And again, until finally, one of you decides that they'll get the courage to ask the other out. And then the shopping dates turn into dinner dates. And the dinner dates turn into a relationship. And the relationship turns into love. And that love might turn into marriage and children and whatnot.
But I wouldn't recommend flirting with the first person you bump into in a supermarket. Chances are, they'll think you're just a little desperate.
Love doesn't happen in a millisecond. Love at first sight is a wash. Love takes time, feeling and hope. Lots and lots of hope that one day you really will find that special person and fall in love. There are no particular rules when it comes to love. Love can happen anywhere, any time, any place. It doesn't always make itself known right away. Sometimes it even shows up after it's too late to do anything about it. Love can be wicked and cruel. Love can torture your heart and break your soul in half. You can love from afar, you can love the person sitting right next to you in class. You can love your best friend and you can love your worst enemy.
There are no limits. Love can make you promise to give someone the moon. Love can make you do stupid things. Love can make you want to kill yourself. Love can be the most important thing in your life. Love is the most powerful emotion a person can feel. Some people even say it's like a drug. Or, as Bette Midler would say,
"Some say love it is a river
that drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed."
Love is a different feeling for everyone. Like in the Harry Potter books, the strongest love potion, Amortentia, gives off a different scent to every person who smells it, according to what attracts them. Rowling also makes it clear that that potion is very dangerous, another adjective you could use to describe love.
If you asked two completely different people what love feels like, you'll get two completely different answers. Like snowflakes, no two loves are the same.
So can we define love? As a "profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person"? Or can we only say that love is a powerful kind of magic that rests deep in our hearts and blooms when we've found the right person?
Well, that's the beauty of magic: It's a very old secret.
Comments