What is love? Baby don't hurt me.

I became curious while reading PB's bible quote in the Spirituality and Enlightenment thread.

There lacks a clear definition of love.
Perhaps I think this because I fear I lack love. However, this is a mistake in my thinking. I fear I lack love because I have recently lost a relationship based on the idea of "true love" (This idea of true love and that I was going to be a good lover was so purely a work of my ego) I didn't start piecing things together till after the relationship so regardless, I am grateful for where I stand today. I would have not learned so much. Also I fear I lack love because I don't make many friends, nor have m(any) people coming up to me to engage.

Those are just fears. In reality I have quite a few friends, I'm friendly to many strangers.

Enough about my worries IF love is in my life. What is having love? Is it having compassion? Is it having empathy? Does having a lot of love require being in love with someone? Is it holding the door open? Is it offering a helping hand? Is it having open ears? Offering advice? Smiling at a stranger?

Is having passion in all that you do love?

Remember so much of the ISm is letting love come and go with ease.

I don't know.

 

And if ya don't know, now ya knoww.

 

Stupid is as stupid does.

 

If you try to define love then it is not really love you are defining.

 

I don't think trying to understand what love is means I'm not trying to understand love. I actually think it's funny. No one offers any ideas of compassion.

My main question is to have love do you have to be in love? Eventually? Ever?

 

I just don't think throwing around the word love goes without reason. So many people (especially here) throw it around without showing any real signs of it. Just because you think you know where "love" fits in philosophically doesn't mean you really know what love IS.

 

Perhaps there are more ways to understand a part of what love can be. There are lots of different kinds of love really. So in order to have love you certainly don't have to be in love.

 

Compassion means to suffer with.

Love is what you are.

 

Love is a semantic category for the ontological condition of all reality, perceived and spoken of through human beings. Just as there can be no seperation of "growth" or "pattern" from all of reality, for all of reality is woven with those threads, so too is love merely one of the colored threads making up the tapestry of existence as you know it. You can stumble around trying to box it into a neat definition, but you will fail. Your box is not nearly strong enough. It is not even strong enough for things like "animal", much less "love".

You want to divert a stream out of the ocean; I know of no way. Drop the effort and be satisfied in knowing the ocean is there, with many hidden co-mingled streams, some of which you are conscious of to varying degrees. What torrential floods are still to be discovered in slight qualitative differentials of water in this ocean? Even that depends on how warm you like your bath.

 

Smiling, I cannot resist being grateful for you.
The word "an", before ontological creates separation, just as the breath is the author of all condition.

Evaporation, breath, condensation.

 

nice catch. "the" is more appropriate, "an" implies its conditional or an after-thought. Take existence, add 2 tsp of love, stir? this dish is flawed.

we are the universe's organs for producing meaning. squirt squirt!

 

Have you ever fell down and hurt yourself, and you have no idea what to do, and then your mother comes, and picks you up and kisses you on the bruise, and suddenly all your pain goes away, and suddenly it is replaced with warmth and joy. That is love! Love isn't there, its here, you know love, just make you self know that you know love.

 

Ok, case pretty much closed. More input would be cool. But thanks folks for clearing it up.

My mistake in thinking, once again.

 

Love is made, not had.

 

I love existing.

 

Now you're just playing games with words.

 

No my point is quite concrete; love is not some binary condition of a situation, rather it is created in the moment with a word, a look, a touch, a thought. Love has no existence outside the now, we don't "have" love, we do love.

 

Ok. Cool. Thanks.

 

Ah, we may do one thing and then do another. Not human doings they say, but human beings.

 

You commented in the other thread that you didn't feel that the quoted Bible verses provided a definition of love.
They certainly do if you understand love as a verb. Love is a verb because only through action is love communicated and perceived. Consider love as only existing as an action and the following verse are defining love in the only way it can be defined, by the resulting action.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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."

All the above regards love as what we do in regards to others.
Love is not some tangible item that lends itself to a dictionary definition like an apple.

Love is defined by our actions and only is existant and manifest in and by our actions.