2007-09-30 01:21:29 · 13 answers · asked by AnGe 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
A long time ago I thought that love was something that you reserved for some special set of people that you had judged worthy of it.
After a while I got to thinking about what Jesus had said about turning the other cheek and loving our neighbor I put the two together and realized that he had made no exceptions in these statements. It became obvious to me that he intended that we exclude no one from the love that we are supposed to be giving. I started thinking about my idea of love and suddenly realized that I had not been loving anyone at all. I had simply been judging everyone and every thing.
Judging someone worthy of love is not love, it is only judgment. I actually started to cry when I realized this. I saw just how much of my life I had wasted being judgmental, thinking of myself as a Christian, when I was actually doing just the opposite of what Jesus had asked us to do.
I thought about the verse judge not lest ye be judged, and I understood it for the first time.
I realized that I have a lot of catching up to do. So many opportunities were wasted. I now try to apply the love that I have for the world in a universal way like Jesus asks us to do.
If I start to feel afraid and think that I see someone that I should not love because of something I have thought or heard I try to catch my mistake as soon as possible. I tell myself that I have forgot the truth and have fallen for the same old trick that had cost me so many opportunities to be loving in the past. The horror of this realization is often all that is necessary to bring me back to my senses and make me drop the judgmental nonsense I was thinking.
I still have a lot to learn about love, but at least I’m making progress.
Love and blessings
Your brother
don
2007-09-30 01:39:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
"Love" isn't a single emotion, it's a meshing of two or more emotions of varying degrees, put together in different combinations by each individual, which change from moment to moment throughout their lifetimes. This definition covers all types of love, not just "perfect" or "true" love.
Each person decides throughout their lifetime at any moment what love is to them whether it is on a conscious level or not; what combination of emotions they should be feeling, how strongly they need to be feeling each of them and how important each of them is. This is why people fall in love with strangers or those they barely know, because those types of people are basically blank slates whom we can convince ourselves meet our criteria. It's also why we become brokenhearted later (which is almost inevitable) when we get to know them through a closer relationship and discover that they didn't meet our criteria after all, if that ends up being the case.
As a person ages and experiences different things, then their views also change, sometimes slightly and sometimes drastically. So what they attribute as love changes, too. This is why people fall out of love with others, or why their love will develop or grow stronger.
Since we each decide which combination of emotions at any time come together to be love, then it is us that chooses love and not the other way around. You aren't made to fall in love with a certain person, you've chosen to, whether it's a conscious choice or not. We are also each responsible for any "destructive" love we may feel if we include emotions such as jealousy and anger into the combination.
There are all kinds of love and infatuation is one of them. It's more commonly known as "puppy love". People tend to discriminate against it and belittle it because it doesn't fall into the category of what they consider to be "true love" or "perfect love", but it is love nonetheless. The thing about the love known as infatuation is that it tends to be an obsessive and very passionate kind of love, so the one possessing it views the person they are infatuated with through very narrow blinders and the fire of the love burns bright and fast, and in turn dies just as quickly and thoroughly.
2007-09-30 08:23:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Love is the act of considering the self interest of another as though it were you own.
It is what allows us to form couples, groups & nations
Love is NOT an emotion per se, but a CONDUIT for emotion.
Fall in love with a happy person,Love makes you happy. Fall in love with a nut job and you just climbed onto an emotional roller coaster.
People confuse Love with the emotions Love conducts; e.g. affection or compassion. But Love conducts hate just as readily. Few things drive men to violence faster than an assault on someone they love.
"Make Love, Not War" is an oxymoron. Because while Love enables collective compassion, it also enables collective violence.
War is not possible without Love.
Patriotism is the Love of country, and good soldiers are patriots.
Most love is conditional. It's one for all ONLY if it's all for one. I love you ONLY if you love me. Unconditional love is usually an incredibly bad idea, it's investing in something with no return.
The one exception is Mother Love. The unconditionality is biologically mandated, because during development children are generally incapable of pulling their weight.
Father Love however is conditional. Mom will forgive you for being a brat, Dad will smack you one. To get Father Love you much behave and/or achieve.
So Mother Love gives you confidence and security, Father Love teaches socialization, that you must give to receive.
Hope this helps
2007-09-30 08:30:07 · answer #3 · answered by Phoenix Quill 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Love is not an emotion like one thinks. It is the ability to give up ones selfish needs and intrests for the sake of the other.
It is sacrifice and commitment even when you don't feel like it.
These human bodies change like the weather and are chemically challenged at one time or another. Therefore one cannot base Love on a single feeling or their emotions alone.
2007-09-30 08:26:32 · answer #4 · answered by Chokolates4u 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Love is more than an emotion or feeling. It is a commitment to the well being of someone other than the "self". One needs to see from anothers perspective in order to love.
2007-09-30 08:27:09 · answer #5 · answered by Intension Juxtaposed 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
love isn't a thing that can be seen, or felt, or heard. It isn't a kiss or a cuddle or anything like that. Love isn't saying 'i love you'.
Love is a feeling that comes from within the heart.
2007-09-30 08:28:30 · answer #6 · answered by Ryann... 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
love has never been properly identified as one thing... it's because each and every one of us has a different concept about love... some may say that it's that special something that makes you all giddy and happy. or some may tell you that its that feeling that makes you wanna jump and yell or smile all day. they say its a chemical reaction that produces a certain hormone that makes us feel how we feel when we're in love.
it could be the greatest virtue for the person next to you or the worst thing that ever happened to your bestfriend's life. it could be ropmantic for me but corny for you.. so you see no matter where you look everyone things of love as differetn from the one next to them. as they say you can't really tell until you feel it for yourself.. look into your heart it could be where the answer lies..
2007-09-30 08:29:06 · answer #7 · answered by ^ 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Love is when you feel more, for somebody else, then you self
love is like an energy rushing through. inside of you.
2007-09-30 08:53:41 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
love is giving no matter what, without expecting something.
2007-09-30 09:00:51 · answer #9 · answered by angel_speak2000 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Baby don't hurt me
2007-09-30 08:29:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋