What Love Really Is — And What It Isn’t

Love is so essential to us, but so little understood. Love is easily confused with feelings and behaviors that are common in close relationships, but aren’t really loving. If we don’t make the distinction, we risk forming impressions of love that make us wary. We end up afraid to give our hearts fully, and reluctant to accept love from others. How sad!

The lack of understanding about love also leaves humanity without a guiding star to aspire toward. How can we improve our love-ability when we don’t know what to tune for, and what to tune out in our loving? Jaded by experiences of “love” that are really experiences of unlove, we may give up on love that’s worthy of the name.

A dear friend of mine, David Truman, wrote a song about this, expressing his own search for the true meaning of love, and his desire to give it.

Care’s a Word I Know the Meaning To

Love, what’s the meaning of the word
It’s so absurd
The meaning is blurred
Like hurting friends

Love, what’s the purpose of the game
A pain is a pain
By any other name
Until it ends

Tell you what it means to me
I don’t ever want to see
A broken heart
Never wanna let you down
If I have to be a clown
I’ll make you laugh
I care for you
Care’s a word I know the meaning to

In the coming days I will be writing about this question here on Medium, and I invite you all to write about it too.

If you wish to share your thoughts, please join me in considering this subject.

—

This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

***

From The Good Men Project on Medium

What Does Being in Love and Loving Someone Really Mean?

My 9-Year-Old Accidentally Explained Why His Mom Divorced Me

The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex

The Internal Struggle Men Battle in Silence

—

Photo credit: iStock.com