Why a day devoted to celebrating this most celebrated
of emotions? Cynics may claim it’s "a Hallmark opportunity,” but card
manufacturers can’t seize an opportunity that doesn’t exist. With few
exceptions, people need to love and be loved in one way or another. Understanding
that there is more than one kind of love, the ancient Greeks had four words for
love: éros, love of an intimate nature, sexual passion, philía, affection, friendship, storgē, the kind of love and affection shown between parents and children, and agápe, a more universal type of love such as love for our fellow humans.
Since last Valentine’s Day, there’s been a lot of
hatred displayed around the world – in terrorists attacks, war and other kinds
of violence, in verbal attacks against some groups by U.S. politicians.
There have also been attacks against the environment and attacks against wildlife.
It seems there is no end to it. Yet amidst it all, there has been an incredible
outpouring of love as people from all over the world have come together to
stand by what they believe is right for their countries and the world. This is love
in the agápe sense and it's powerful. However, to quote Elie Wiesel, “The opposite of love is not
hate, it’s indifference” – that cold eye that observes wrong doing without
being motivated to take action against it. Too many of us have become
indifferent because of fear or hopelessness, or both. Apathy on a mass scale is
snuffing out the light of love almost as fast as the candles are lit.
Let’s not allow love to become a second-hand emotion. Let’s
celebrate all the beautiful aspects of it this Valentine’s Day by loving in
every way we can. I think Burt Bacharach was on the money with this line from his famous song from the 60s: "What the world needs now is love, sweet love." Listen to it and if you like, take a peek at some of my favorite love quotes while you're listening.
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"I won't stay in a world without love." — Lennon/McCartney
"Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without." —from the movie Meet Joe Black
Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while." — from the movie Princess Bride.
"He ain't heavy, he's my brother." — Bobby Scott/Bob Russell
"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." — Franklin P. Jones
"He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all." — Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"And now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Conrinthians:13
Hi Joan: I read your "Love" blog. My thoughts on what love is are complex and would take a day to explain: my biology background immediately makes me think we're innately honed by evolution to pursue sex and as a result reproduce. Love is not needed. However, Darwin proposed that successful organisms are those that don't simply reproduce but produce fertile offspring who live long enough to reproduce themselves. So humans who have won the sex chase and afterwards stuck around to protect their young have a much better chance of passing on their DNA (however mindless). Still doesn't require "love", does it? However, human society is far more complex than rutting lizards and successful parenting requires parents to stick around long enough to get their children reproducing! Doesn't cover all your types of love. A good question is: Do we pass on our DNA or does DNA use us to pass itself on. Going back to chemical evolution, it's the latter. Of course then we get into society stopping men from clubbing women and raping them to reproduce . . .
ReplyDelete"Do we pass on our DNA or does DNA use us to pass itself on?" That's something to think about, George. Even though chemical evolution leans towards the latter, I'd like to think it's the former. But between us we've managed to take all the romance out of Valentine's Day haven't we? :-)
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