What Is Love?

What Is Love?

They say to love is a beautiful thing. They say to love is work, but is worth it. Alas, they say to love is to be eternally happy. But who exactly is "they?" And I can't help but wonder if "they" themselves have ever truly been in love. I say to love is to devote your time to the boy down the road, and then be dumped. 5 months wasted! I say to love is to be artificially shown affection, and when it is at its best, vanishes as quickly as it came. I say to love is to feel the joy of victory by winning the eye of the guy you like, and then feeling the agony of defeat when he is taken away by the blonde girl with curly hair; forever! I say to love is to expose your most precious expression; your innocence, and to have it stripped away from you like the youth from the old. All that is left is a torn soul. I say to love is to become someone that you aren't. You never jumped before when the phone rang. You never painted your nails or wore skirts, and now look at you. You used to be true and original, but now, I say to love is to be changed permanently.

Once that first glance, the first affectionate touch, and the first kiss occur, you want it, no; you need to have it all the time. You become a monster whose hunger can't be fed, and then you are crushed when the only thing you think you need never calls back and just walks away. Most things that are bad or are harmful in this world, we become afraid of. We try to form a "safety blanket" of laws to protect us, but what about love? It hurts too doesn't it? Should we do 10-15 years for every phone calls not returned? No, that wouldn't work. Should we do 20-25 years for every heart we break? No, I don't think that is it either. Should we lock ourselves up inside and never show vulnerability? No, then no one would like us. So I suppose that to love, well, quite simply to love is to be happy sad, angry, frustrated and mad. To be giddy jumpy, as sweet as pie, and then to be balling crying, and not knowing why. Sure, it's not fair, but still we take every hit! But hey, we are women. We are blessed by sensitivity, and the purity to love.

Love stinks, surely, but don't get me wrong - I am not preaching hate to the world. There are basically two kinds of love: There is the love associated with peace, respect and goodwill - usually referred to as "Brotherly Love," which is something the world definitely needs more of. Then there's the other kind of love - romantic love. Which is total crap?

What is love? That question has been answered many times by poets, songwriters and lovers making utter fools of themselves, all of them usually coming up with such cliches as, "Love is a Rose." Love is a rose, all right. It's got thorns. If I were to answer that question (which I believe is intended to be merely rhetorical anyways), I would say:

"Love is a luxury, not a necessity. Love is society's dangerous pressure, which ruins those who vainly try to comply with it. Love leeches you of your intelligence, rational abilities, creativity, time and money."

So, it is there. "Love is a luxury, not a necessity." Is love really necessary? Does the Constitution mention it? Does one of the Ten Commandments say, "Thou Shalt Fall in Love?" No. Love is simply a luxury. Once can live a happy, healthy, productive life without falling in love. If Plato had fallen in love, for example, he would have never had the time to create his philosophies. "Love is society's dangerous pressure, which ruins those who vainly try to comply with it." Turn on the radio. What do you hear? It is a love song. Watch a movie. What do you see? It is a love scene. Perhaps, to escape the problem, you can take a walk. Sorry! There are lovers holding hands in the parks, sidewalks and shopping malls of the world. What happens every February? Valentine's Day, and it is a day to love and be loved. We are bombarded with hearts, cupids, flowers and candies. We feel the pressure of the marketing ploys of Valentine's Day (a so-called "holiday" with a strictly commercial purpose and no historical significance whatsoever, designed to suck your purse or wallet dry on overpriced gimmickry). Pressure indeed. So you have no one to love? Society labels you a "loser" or an "outcast." That's just not fair.

Love is certainly responsible for the problems of the world. Take overpopulation, for instance, Love leads to sex, and sex leads to babies. Too much leads to too much sex and too many babies. Perhaps the world's governments should take that into consideration. Without romantic love, there would be a dramatic decrease in the instances of date rape and spousal abuse. I say:

"Love is something that leeches you of your intelligence, rational abilities, creativity, time and money."

Love makes you dumb. That is not just opinion that is fact. How many times has couples neglected work or their studies just to spend time together? It is far too often. Lovers are very uncreative people. They succumb to dullness and clinches. "I'll love you forever," a man would say to his woman. What does that mean, "forever?" No one loves forever. People break up. And even if they marry, they get divorced. And even if they stay married, they die. Nothing lasts forever. I have lost count of all the times I wanted to hang out with a friend, only to hear, "Oh, sorry, I can't. I have to spend all day with my girlfriend." (My mind hears the sound of a whip cracking). And lovers are so intoxicated with each other that, for them, "Time seems to fly by so quickly."As for money, love leaves you bankrupt. There are the necessities of life: food, clothing, bills, perhaps even rent and gas. But love upsets one's financial priorities. Lovers have to spend money on such things as presents, flowers, presents, cologne or perfume, presents, perhaps even birth control and, oh yeah, presents. And I didn't even mention how money disappears when people go out on dates! All of the above leaves one financially weak. It's no wonder that lovers have to end up living together.

Face it, love is not such a wonderful thing now, is it? But still, it is such a gift to love someone, and having someone to be beside you. We need love. Love may include romance, infatuation, affection and tenderness. But even if those elements are not present, it could still be love. A lot of people will tell you that they are in love, or that they have been in love, but there is a huge disparity between one person's definition of love and another's. Love is noble and idealistic. Love is the highest of all the virtues. Love is essential to all