What is love?

Love is a concept that we can all relate to as human beings. How we interpret, express or receive love may be different, but we've all experienced it in one form or another. It's something that we've been trying to define since the beginning of time. Which makes sense because it's the fabric of our being and the driving force behind our existence. Although the question has always been asked, in my opinion, there is no definitive answer that has been reached among the average person. I believe this is because love is a subjective experience. No two people can define love in the same way because none of us have lived the same experience. This is true for siblings in the same household, parents who've birthed children, our passion for our careers, hobbies and so on. 

Love is personal. It's shaped by our earliest experiences. It can also continue to take on different meanings as we experience life and the people around us. Our experience with love is often first influenced by what we've witnessed between our parents, family members, ourselves, or a lack thereof. However, one thing I'm sure that we can all agree on is the fact that love is a feeling, a strong emotion, shared between people, places, and things. We can love someone, love something, or love the way a place makes us feel. As beautiful as love can feel, it can also be one of the most painful experiences that we come across. This can arise from not experiencing true love, being hurt by an unhealthy love, or being robbed of the experience as a whole. We can only feel or express love as far as we've met ourselves or by how we've witnessed others express love. 

Love is supposed to make you feel free, seen, safe and..good. Somewhere along the way this concept became misconstrued once selfish desires were brought into the mix. It became performative, conditional, used as a weapon..an excuse. It became synonymous with pain. Yes love can result in hurt because we're all human and won't always get it right, but it should not become normalized due to our unfortunate, negative experiences with it. Love is one of, if not the most vulnerable part of ourselves that we can give one another. That in itself can trigger fear. Fear of it not being reciprocated, fear of it leaving, fear of it hurting, fear of it being used against us. All because we've let our painful experiences redefine its blueprint. 

The Bible reads, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13 4-7. It's only right to use this as the standard definition considering that God is love and he formed us, the world and everything in it as a display of love. It took on a darker meaning once the enemy/opposition made us question its very foundation. From there, it took a more complicated turn. Because of this, until this day we are still trying to define, heal, learn and unlearn from something that was supposed to be simple to begin with. An appreciation for our creator, creation, ourselves and one another. Once we get back to this very foundation and uproot anything opposite of this pure, strong, all consuming feeling, we'll be that much closer to simplifying the very make of us all.