What is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me...no, I'm only kidding. But, if you instinctively sang along, I want to make the case that the thing which prompted you to sing along - that's love. The thing that could only have been derived from interacting with the world around you, and having it interact back in a way that reassures you that what you're doing is right, whatever right means. And so, in this month that the universe has reassured us that love should be a focul point, what better time to elaborate.
You tell a joke to a room full of people. You tell it because, based on all that encompasses your reality, you think it's funny. When someone in the room laughs, even if it's just one other person - you breathe a sigh of relief, because your funny is the same as someone else's funny. That feeling you get...that's love. When there's no one laughing. When you've told a joke but the room stays quiet. You thought it was funny but no one else did. It begs the question, Am I alone in this world I'm living in? That feeling you get...that's the absence of love.
When you make a move - you lean in for a kiss - you make that move because you believe you've seen, heard or felt enough to convince you someone else feels the same way that you do. When you get rejected - they lean away - it puts your reality into question...everything you thought was there was misconstrued. That feeling...that what was true was only true for you...that's the absence of love. But, when your actions are vindicated - they kiss you back - it's a promise that you're not the only one who's felt what you've felt, and that feeling...that's love.
You hear the words of a song, and the beat of the song, and they represent precisely how you too have felt...that's love. You dance a dance and people dance along - they hear the same and move the same...that's love. You read a book, and it feels like it was written just for you - like the experiences have been shared...that's love. When you make someone food, because you enjoy the taste of that food - and they enjoy it too...that's love. You fight a fight, and have someone fight back - showing what's important to you is important to them, just for different reasons...that's love too.
If you're still with me, you shouldn't be surprised, as I shed light on a lie - love is unconditional. No it's not. Love has conditions. Circumstantially, the conditions differ; but, intrinsically, they all come down to the fact that love requires requitance. It must be reciprocated for it's existence to continue. The good thing is, love is boundless. So sing along, dance along, read along. Laugh with me, eat with me, fight with me. Be with me. Help me spread the love, so far as we can, through all the means that we can.
Because I love you, but I need you to love me too.
"So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you."
- Paelo Caelho