What is "love"?
This is an impossible question for many reasons. I have come to understand that love is one of those fleeting feelings that you just want to hold onto for as long as you possibly can. For this exact reason, we tend to take love off its pedestal and say it more as a passing comment about an object, a place or even a person. The word "love" is losing it's meaning, and the main reason is because a word that was once held to an impossible standard, is now overused.
We often hear others say "I love the shirt you are wearing", "I loved that movie" or "I love Chris Hemsworth; he's so hot." Heck, sometimes we even say these comments ourselves. But do we really "love" this object, this experience or this person? In relationships as well, the phrase "I love you" is often said by one person and this thought has not even crossed the mind of the other. The issue is that we are just handing out the word "love" like candy on Halloween. "Love" is no longer an intense emotion, but now just a word.
Don't get me wrong, in a way I believe in "love", but I believe that when you have an intense feeling toward something or someone, you have a physical response to it. I believe in the butterflies you get when you see someone that has impacted your life in unspeakable ways. I believe in the warmth you feel in your heart when you experience something for the first time. I believe in the breathtaking moment you get when looking at beautiful scenery. I believe in the object, place or person we each hold dear to our hearts.
So, I ask again, what is "love"?
Love is that feeling deep within your being that causes you to take a step back and say, "whoa." Love is a tear shed because you just can't hold in your emotions any longer. Love is your heart racing and your head spinning. Love is also deep breaths and an unnatural calmness. Love is difficult, enduring and a feeling unlike any other. Love is not just a word.
It's time to take love back. It's time to put love back on its pedestal and, once again, hold it to the highest standard. It's time to stop throwing love around like it's nothing. It's time to put love back in its place as that intense emotion that we feel, not just a passing comment. It's time to stop just saying love like we don't mean it; it's time to start experiencing every ounce of emotion that comes with love.
