Truthfully, when I was told the theme for this week’s articles had to be all things “Valentine’s Day,” I almost wanted to scratch my eyeballs out. The writer’s block was insane. Every possible idea didn’t seem like an inspiring article could be produced. If you’ve been reading my articles for a while, you’d know that I love to inspire, so I had to live up to it. I asked my social media following for suggestions, hoping something would spark my interest, but no topic jumped out at me. Finally, after a day and a half had passed, I went to my mom for help, and she led me to read a scripture in the bible that she believed would help me.
“If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 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 truth. It always protect, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
After, reading this scripture, I thought what better thing to talk about on Valentine’s Day than LOVE. I mean it’s love…DUH! Valentine’s Day is marketed around LOVE. It completely went over my head.
We all know the word love. It’s the premise of the greatest love songs, books, and poems. We’ve seen love in our families, between our favorite celeb couples, and perhaps between ourselves and another person. Love is universally known. But do we know what love is? How does love exist? How do we put love in words? Simply, what does love even mean? Well, I am here to put love into words. You may be wondering what makes me qualified to talk about a complicated subject or what will make my explanation of love any different then all of the many blogs, studies, novels, and posts made by people named Steve who live in their mother’s basements about love? Lucky for you, I’m not qualified, but I can promise that it will be an interpretation that you least expected. So, without further adieu, enjoy this formal yet poetic explanation of love.
what is love?
In my eyes, love exists in three forms. Love is a person, an action, and a feeling.
Love, the person, puts a smile on your face at the simple thought of them. The thought of them awakens each of your four senses. Their scent fills your nostrils as if they were standing right there. You hear the softness of their voice as if they were next to your ear. You feel their touch light on your skin. You taste the kiss of their lips. Love is that one person in the world that you can go to at your lowest, who not only listens but hears you. You know that they will never judge you but only embrace you. They help you to see things from a new perspective. The person hears what you say even when you are not directly telling them. They hear the sadness in your voice, even when you say you’re happy. They see the glimpse of despair in your eyes that appears for a split second. Love is the person whose shoulder you lean on when you’re too weak to stand upright on your own. Love is a person who rejoices for you in your success and comforts you in your failure. They don’t make everything about them because they understand that though the two of you are bonded by your love for each other, you are special because of what makes you both different from one another. The person who sees you as an individual, not defined by your bad days, is what love is. You see your future when looking into their eyes. Being with them feels like an eternity, on another planet, in another galaxy, in another dimension, and in another lifetime. The person that comes to mind is your love.
Love, the action, is thoughtful and considerate. Love is remembering to tell each other that you’re taking a mental health day so that no one will feel ignored or be left to thinking that they are forgotten. Love is respecting boundaries and openly communicating what your limits are. Love is to show vulnerability and then be met with compassion, comfort, and gentleness. Love is not forceful but only passionate. Love is not coercing or selfish, but it is understanding and selfless. Love is seeing an individual as a human being who has feelings, wants, needs, experiences, goals. Love is not to see another as just an experiment, orgasm, or object. Love is thoughtful. Love is picking up their favorite snack or flower because you remembered they liked it. Love makes sacrifices for the good of the relationship. Giving your last, which also may have been your only, is love. Love is planting a seed, nourishing the seed, watching it grow, keeping it alive, and repeating the cycle. Love is enduring. It lives on and multiplies. Love is being faithful and loyal when temptation is all around. Love is hopeful and not doubting. Love is uplifting and never degrades. Love cannot only be said, but it has to be shown. Love is how you act. It is the decisions you make. It is the pure and intentional chances you take. Love is not only sought out but it is shown.
Love, the feeling, is what we know all too well. Instead of learning, what love is, we say that we just feel it. However, the feeling is love. The feeling of love is so overwhelming that it consumes your entire being. It is the feeling that causes your stomach to feel funny, but in a good way, of course. It’s the nervousness you feel when you see that person when you look into their eyes. Love is the feeling of peace and protection when you are in their presence. Love is the feeling of newness and relief. Love is a feeling that cannot be spoken. Love fills you up. The feeling of love is a combination of the person of love and the action of love. The person shows a sense of love through action. The actions of love occur because of one person’s feelings of love for another. They are all connected.
I have tried my best to break love down into these three concepts but even now, I feel that these explanations only scratch the surface of a concept that is so deep and can never be fully known to man in one short lifetime. However, it is safe to say that I do know that love is many things. Love is a person. Love is an action. Love is a feeling. Love is passion. Love is loyal. Love is truth. Love is welcoming. Love is strength. Love is rocky. Love is healing. Love is joy. Love is consuming. Love is indispensable. Love just is…