What is Love?

If you're a Christian, then consider the Greek's view of the different kinds of Love: Agape (ie: God's love); Eros (love btw a man and a woman); Philia (brotherly love); and Phallic? (love btw parents and their children).

Obviously, there are different kinds of love.

Now, should you really love everyone unconditionally? I don't know. I like to keep things simple. Love of God, Family, Friends, Country - then everything or everyone else - has worked well for me ; )

- Jay

I am a father of three. Yes, I want my children to do well in school and life in general. What's most important is that they try their best... what marks they achieve is insignificant.

I'm also active in my church. As far as sin is concerned; you love the person but hate the sin. We should all love and seek the welfare of each other and be patient with one another. Who hasn't done wrong?

I know love. It is not the wife, boyfriend, girlfriend type of love. It is more of an understanding, more of..no matter what I'll do anything for you, be there for you. Love is like you are a part of the other person whether it be family, friend, lover. Love is something unexplainable. I know I have it, I just can't explain it.

I do know that love can masquerade as many things. With real love there is a knowing it will never go away.

Wow! It's one of eternal questions (among "what is life?", "what is our destiny?", etc.) It reminded me of a brilliant book I read when a child, though that episode was about "happiness". Let me quote it here:

(One of characters in the novel collected definitions of happiness. And he just found one more):

You ask me:
What is the greatest happiness on earth?
Two things:
changing my mind
as I change a penny for a shilling;
and
listening to the sound
of a young girl
singing down the road
after she has asked me the way.

(Christopher Logue)

- You see? How can one link it all together? Listening to the sound of a young girl... Not just any singing, you know, but of the girl who should be young, heading in the other direction that he is, and only after she asked him the way she needed... How can it be put such way? How on earth can you find any algorithm for such things? ("Monday begins on Saturday" A. Strugatskiy and B. Strugatskiy)

The same with love. It is very difficult to give any general definition of love, if possible at all.

Most often when speaking about love people mean some sense of affection or attachment to someone or something. Be it an idea, a person, a thing - usually that sense implies some response, some outcome that may be beneficial in a way to the one who loves. It may be just a pleasant feeling that "warms", it may be passion that puts everything else in the world aside, it may be strong attachment to an idea when people naturally die for it.

What is common in all these different kinds of love? It is giving for receiving. (So it may be called "conditional" love.) "I give you my attention, my time, my feelings, my actions... and I want to receive from you some recognition, back actions, the state I await from you (i.e. a response that would be beneficial for me)".

I'd like to offer you the way how I see love - in the terms if energy exchange.

When we give, we share our energy and when we receive, we receive energy that other share - in this or that kind. The entire world around follows this rule - the wildlife and human beings. And what is most sad about it that usually receiving takes the first place. That is "I'll give my energy away if (and when) I get some energy from ..." You see, it's a generalization and you may apply it to any emotions (which are energy giving) or particular situations in your life. Many people call such energy giving as "love". Are they right? Yes, why not?

But seeking for higher states of consciousness, trying to evolve in general (which is also natural) the humanity found out that the universe follows not only the law of exchange but that everything in it is interconnected and united. So if you give energy away you make some room in yourself to receive energy ("you cannot add milk to the full jug", right?). And since everything is interconnected you SHALL receive energy as soon as you have some spare room for it.

Hence there appeared the definition of "unconditional" love - giving without expecting any receiving. For a person to grasp and put into practice this "unconditional" love concept it is needed first to understand and grasp the concept of equality of everyone and everything in the world, of their mutual connection and permanent exchange not only on material level but on the level of energy as well. But you know, people are so different and their mindset also differs so much...

I'll stop myself here since this post may turn into a book (lol)

Hope it'll be of some help to you.

hi intresting topic we are in need to explain to people this meaning

Love is the most pleasurable and important thing that you can experience. There are different types of love. Many people are looking for good relationships. Think what you crave from your were attracted to someone and this is what it means to you. It can be a combination of acts, such as: nice words, being reliable, praise, complements, gifts, attention, talking, spending time together, being faithful, helpful and more. There is God's love too which means you have warm feelings toward everything and everyone.
Have you ever met a person who will tell you "I love you" but you wouldn't feel or believe him or her? This is because you have a different language to express it. Sometimes you need to be convinced how they feel about you. Some people feel more accepted and cared of than others. For example, some people believe everyone loves them even if no one really does anything for them. And others don't believe it no matter what you do for them.
Different types
Some people view love when someone helps them. Others experience love when they get attention and hear praise. What is that you really want from people? I know people who don't care receiving praise or complements but others crave it most of all. Some people view love in money. Really, some people feel it when someone spends money on them and buys gifts.
But what if you want to love someone and you don't know how? This is a tough question that many people don't even know what it means for them. They don't know how to feel it toward someone. Most often this people didn't get enough affection in their life or in childhood or weren't convinced in love by someone else. A person who had a hard or tough childhood has harder time to be nice to others. Some people don't believe in love at all. Does this mean that it doesn't exist? No, it does exist, you just need to find it and understand what it means to you.
What is it? It is the most beautiful and warm feeling that you can experience and it makes a world a better place. It can be romantic, friendship, love toward relatives. All we want to be accepted, appreciated and cared for. Look for it and you will find. For most people romantic love is the strongest. For others God's divine feelings is the strongest. Spirituality and faith really helps you to experience it. When you know you are accepted by God, it's easier to treat others the same too.


best wishes,

love is life............

If you're a Christian then you should know what this is:

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

In fact, God himself is love.

love is something more than we expected to have ... love is something like a magical spell that binds us whether we are sad or happy.

Self-Love means self-acceptance.

Love is life and life is light therefore love is light

Interesting thoughts.
As always, simplest things are hardest to explain.
Honore de Balzac said:
"True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself. It is equal and pure, without violent demonstrations: it is seen with white hairs and is always young in the heart."