Can you define love?

[paula lynne]

So, mankind still cant seem to agree what it is.....what do you think constitutes love and its definition?

A long time ago, way back in 2000, I saw a very interesting documentary. Several scholars discussed love and its meaning. The answer seemed to be.....
LOVE IS.....A CHEMICAL REACTION.
I liked this answer. We meet that special person, a chemical reaction occurs, over which we have no control, and sets off a chain of emotional and physical events.

But, today, at this moment, Love is..for me....having a cuddle with my husband, and still getting the butterflies, after 14 years together.
Or is it, honesty, trust, putting up with each other, sex, or something deeper, something more........what is love? :unsure:

[Jamie C]

no idea what it is but it's a right biatch and can destroy you internally thats how i ended up here... so confusing :(

[Lizziesaurus]

Someone who'll stand by you through everything no matter the cost to them and you'll stand by and protect them no matter what.

That's the best I can come up with as I'm yet to experience 'true love'

[Tish]

My strongest experience of love is for my children. I would die for them, I want to take away any pain that they feel and am bursting with pride at their acheivements, T x

[shoegal]

Love is so difficult to describe. It's a warm glow inside, a feeling of joy and hope and optimism. It makes you feel alive and makes you want to be better. It makes you smile for no reason and makes the world seem like a different place. It's the meeting of two souls that connect in an otherwise hectic and crazy world. It gives everything meaning and life a purpose. And I should know because I have met my soul mate (you know who you are). :flowers: xxx

[munkeyinblack]

love is the one thing death cannot shake
love is the one bond that nothing can break
love is a chord that time cannot sever
love is eternal , love is forever.

i guess that sums it up for me..... still looking lol

[Granny Primark]

Love is getting up at 5am and taking my hubby a cup of coffee in bed before he goes work at 1pm then pretending that I thought he was on early shift.:winks::D

Love is saying hes done good moving the furniture and then as soon as hes gone out putting it back to where it was.:winks::D

Love is not telling him hes got a small bald patch at the back of his head.:winks::D

Love is not telling him how much ive spent when ive been shopping cus I dont want him to lose all his hair.:winks::D

FINALLY

Love is being together for 36 years and still worrying about him and telling him I love him.:blush::blush::blush:

(Omg ive just realised im going soft in my old age!:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:)

[paula lynne]

Lovely answers gang, and some sad. Granny, thats brilliant!:roflmao:

[kibbutz83]

Hi Paula, read "The road less travelled" by M Scott Peck... he explains love very eloquently x

[paula lynne]

Well hello stranger! Nice to have you back! Thanks for the tip, sounds good. Hope youre well.x

[snowgoose]

a lovely thoughtful thread Paula:)

love is to me : my husband patiently standing by me and reassuring me that I will be ok despite snotty nose and red eyes and so much distress .

and then I remember love as always making sure all the family were fed and watered ,clothed and supported and hugged .

swings and roundabouts ....and never giving up when the proverbial hits the fan.

oh and laughing at only history you have made together :bighug1:
xx

[daisycake]

I used to think it was that bond you felt with your parents - that you knew you belonged to them, and no matter what they did you could never quite get them out of your head. Now its different - I feel that way about my dad, despite all he's done I still think about him morning noon and night - part of me thinks that's just because I've been brought up to try and forgive people, and the other part of me knows it's just a genetic connection - we're programmed to think that way. I don't know if I love my dad - I know I love my mum to bits and that's where the difference is, how I know I love one and not the other - I miss my mum when I don't speak to her even for a day but I can go months, years not talking to my dad, feeling that abscence of a father figure but not missing him specifically, I struggle to see what I'd miss! although I do try.

I think romantic love, I've yet to experience it I think, but I wonder if it's like infatuation - when you think about that person 24/7, find everything about them fascinating and can drag them into any conversation, even if it's not remotely related to them, you want to tell them everything and when something positive happens they're the first person you want to run to. What I'm going through with someone just now. Hell when its unrequited and you have to see them with their partner. You can only see them as perfect and find it impossible to see their bad points.

I think love is different from that in I think you still feel mad about that person but accept them as a human being with faults and imperfections like everyone else! when you can out up with all that and still want to be with them 24/7, I think that's love.

[uk23]

To me love is fun but just a chemical reaction, i would say i 'love' my gf but nothing in life is forever, we are animans and arent designed to be monogamous.

[kibbutz83]

Hi Paula, I do "browse" occasionally :) I just try not to spend too long here... I tend to feel as though I'm going round in circles when I do :( Hope you're well, take care xx

[Hazel B]

Love to me is that I would give one of my kidneys to that person to save their life: this covers my partner, family and friends that are so important to me.

I'm not so good on romantic love, only been in a grown up relationship for 8 years (!) but to me it's knowing you're a team of two against the world, back-up and support always there when you get home and shut the door.

[teez]

love is longing for the sweetest kiss,,a kiss youve felt once before and would wait around forever for if you knew it would caress your lips just once more before you left the planet,,

[Granny Primark]

Love is doing a smoochie dance with my daughter tonight to take thats "Rule the world" cus im better ive got my daughter back after suffering with severe depression and that tune was in the charts when she gave birth to me gorgeous grandaughter.

[mercer88]

To me love is fun but just a chemical reaction, i would say i 'love' my gf but nothing in life is forever, we are animans and arent designed to be monogamous.

While it is certainly true that from a zoological perspective human beings should not be monogamous; it is the case that we are capable of such things by choice and commitment.

While love does have its basis in chemical reactions in the brain; the human being is not bound to them. We are blessed in the animal kingdom with a sentience unmatched; conscience and duty all play a part.

And, actually kinship behaviour is another interesting thing to note. We feel a huge bond with our offspring and, as a result, with the providers of our offspring.

To me, love is a culmination of a variety of aspects, both psychological, physiological and, seemingly inexplicable. It pains me to say so because, the inexplicable is generally a massive cause of panic attacks in me! But love is by it's nature quite magical; whether caused by nature, or by fated sorcery. When you find that someone; you know.

Love to me is knowing someone is at peace with your faults because you more than make up for them. It's having someone to talk with about everything and nothing. It is having a smile with no real reason for it besides knowing another individual exists. It is comfortable silences in which neither says a word because neither needs to. It is chilly winter nights spent close to each other watching a film. It is two people who are not only the most passionate of lovers, but the best of friends (and worst of enemies, sometimes!)

If all that can be explained by the simple mandate of 'see appropriate partner ---> procreate' then so be it. But I think the human capacity for thought and reason. The conscience and moral standards which come from our upbringing and nurture as well as setting ourselves, can all have a far more powerful impact than our base instincts.

So, true as it may be that, as apes, Homo sapiens should not be monogamous; some have been, some are, and some will be. Because of our fantastic cognitive function.

And so, in that respect. Love is what you think it is.

[Granny Primark]

love is when you care about someone and see them suffering you wish that it was you going thru the pain rather than them.