Friday 4 March 2022

What is Love, Anyway?


 

What if I say that our idea of love is conditioned by the roles we play in our lives – a daughter, a mother, a father, a lover, a husband, a colleague?

What if I say that the roles we play are conditioned by the stories and fables we have grown up with – that we are expected to behave in certain ways if we are to be a perfect wife, a perfect son or a perfect grandson, a good friend?

What if I say that we limit our capacity to love by putting it within definitions – romantic love, motherly love, love for the dog, love for a best friend?

What if I say that real love exists outside these roles and definitions – because love is just simply love, anyway?

What if I say that love is vaster than the realm of the human world – that love pervades the land, animals, trees, Earth and beyond?

What if I say that we are all capable of loving every human, every living soul - be it a tree, an insect, an animal - with as much fierceness as the person you love the most right now?

Can we uncondition ourselves enough to know that what we think of love is just a shadow of the real thing?

Can we uncondition ourselves enough to know that by defining love, we are trying to encompass the universe within a tiny box?

Do we have the courage to open our hearts to the real Love?