What is Love?

Much has been written about a sentimental view of love. Reducing love to the early days of falling in love, we miss so much of what gives life meaning. Do we even care anymore?

Some professionals write about relationships and bonding, but avoid the word love all together.

Attraction can rapidly lure us closer to another, but just as quickly can be lost.

Falling in love is different from other qualities of love. After a few months or a year or so passing, we may view our beloved very differently. What we once loved about someone, we may now despise.

Yet our heart can be deeply connected to another for years. We often feel this bond the most, when we part.

I think our heart is a symbol of love, for it can teach us much about what we love. When we can calm, our heart’s desire can be felt. Unfortunately, due to the traumatic nature of our world, we can be numb to the subtle longing of our heart.

A child is another powerful symbol for our heart’s desire. Often we neglect the voices of children as whimsical and irrelevant. Just as tragically, we neglect the inner child. For within our heart and mind, this dynamic can lead us to unforeseen gifts.

Emily Dickinson wrote to a friend in a letter, “the heart wants what it wants or it just does not care.” How much do we wander through our life, fulfilling obligations of work and family, feeling empty and unfulfilled?

Love is a mystery. Yet it is a mystery worth encountering with wisdom and sensitivity. Great secrets can be found, seeking the longings of our heart.

If you seek to reject the heart, be forewarned that scientific research reveals the power of our heart’s intelligence. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart,” writes Hellen Keller.