Love's one of the simplest things I feel, and the way people have shown "love" to me recently has been complicating my understanding of what it truly is.

A classic use of "love" with people that have no other intention but to manipulate the other person is the most prevalent use of "love" I've experienced recently- not just personally, but also propositionally in my peers' situations. What I'm talking about is when people use their love as a sort of bargaining chip to get people to talk to them, seek out specific reactions from people, attempt to get someone to do something for them, etc. You'll see them express it as, "I guess I thought you loved me more than that" or "If you say you love me why won't you do this for me?" It becomes especially invasive when the person experiencing these statements does, in fact, love the person. But you see the problem here isn't a test of the extent of one's love, or how much you actually care about someone genuinely. The problem is the raw manipulation created through intimate and personal feelings. It's psychologically invasive, manipulative, and outright selfish. It took me a long time to be able to identify and remove the people in my life that exhibited this type of love, and I did it through critical thinking strategies that I've developed from my career as a scientist. To be blunt- it's all about looking at the situation you're in as an outsider, not an insider. In this lens, it's easier to make more rational inferences and decisions based on observation and behavior, because you've removed yourself as a subject to the manipulation.

"In science there is a constant interplay between inductive inference
(based on observations) and deductive inference (based on theory), until
we get closer and closer to the 'truth,' which we can only approach but
not ascertain with complete certainty." (livescience.com)

It's important to identify these types of situations in your life because they remove all rationality from the situation and it truly makes an impact on decision making and clear thought. The only truth in these situations is not the "love," it's the quiet killer of manipulation.

The truth of this "love" is that it's a parasitic complex that can be truly detrimental to both parties.

Let's not complicate what love really is. Real love-- whether expressed to your partner, your friend, your parents, etc.-- is an intangible, unprofitable, unconditional, and selfless experience that we give to one another because we are human and have the privilege to experience love.

"Love? Above all things I believe in love! Love is like oxygen. Love is a many-splendored thing, love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love!" -Moulin Rouge