Love is...
Love is.
The concept of love is so universal and also so nuanced that the only way to fully understand it is to detach yourself from it. Not detachment in the isolation sense. But detachment as a means to peacefully observe without judgment or expectations.
On February 14, love pranced its way across my mental stage courtesy of social media posts, endless grocery aisles of candy, over crowded restaurants and slow jam mixes courtesy of Soulection & Chill. The Whooligan’s mix, in particular, included voice notes from people around the world describing what love meant to them. Hearing people share their take on love inspired a disconnect from the hoopla to explore my own feelings and test my own hypothesis.
“Love is when you are able to live and find light & benefit. It’s all about being selfless, giving and generous. Generous with your time, your patience and your presence. It’s about elevating someone, supporting them and having their back. Being able to show empathy, the ability to understand and share [the] feelings of another. Sometimes it’s silent. You’ll feel it and you’ll know it. Essentially it’s quite simple. Love is when you’ve got someone and they’ve got you.”
— Excerpt from The Whooligan’s Soulection & Chill Mix
That quote put the wheels in motion.
If I had to answer “What is love?” Or “What does love mean to you?”, I would freeze. I can’t even attempt to define love.
All I can do is make observations based on my personal experiences.
OBSERVATION 1: LOVE IS A CHOICE
When it comes to love, we have a choice. We choose to live a life full of love or close ourselves off from it completely. We choose to love others, sometimes even when that love is unrequited. We choose to love our family, friends, pets, jobs and so on.
We choose to love ourselves.
Love is always a choice.
OBSERVATION 2: LOVE IS ON A CONTINUUM
Click here to read the rest of Adrienne's original Medium post.
