What do you define "Love" as?

[Midnight_illusions]

As you can see by the title, I want to see what people feel "Love" is. All you have to do is tell me What does love mean to you. Does it mean you feel safe? Does it mean you have immense trust for the person? Speak what you feel! mrgreen mrgreen  

[Anwell]

Love is a very difficult thing to describe.
However, if we look at the subject from a biological perspective, love is (like all other emotions) nothing but a chemical reaction.

Think about this:
We are really not much different from animals.
Animals experience a certain attraction to members within their species (usually) that are of the opposite gender.
They experience this attraction because of hormones.
And further narrow their selection through competition.
Often animals will choose mates that are bigger, healthier, and stronger.
Humans experience the same "emotion" which is a reaction created by certain hormones that are released inside the brain.
Also like animals humans look for traits that are favorable to them.
After "falling in love" humans undergo a ceremony that binds them in matrimony (marriage) and learn to tolerate their spouse's flaws because it is neccessary.
If a "relationship" can last for the first several years, the two people most likely develope a mental attatchment to their spouse.
If they cannot learn to tolerate each other, couples often seperate or "divorce" and search for a new mate (just as animals do).

Love, in my opinion, is a blend of hormones and tolerance and mental attatchment

What do people think love is?
Most people are selfish by human nature and subconciously assume that there is someone out there who will always agree with them, never get angry with them, and always want to be around them.
THERE IS NO SUCH PERSON.
As I said before, love is tolerance.
Your significant other will SOMETIMES agree with you.
They will get angry with you OFTEN.
And sometimes they will want to do things WITHOUT YOU.
And you will have to TOLERATE these things.
After spending a good while with this person, you will grow attatched to their presence.
There you have it: TRUE LOVE

 

[MindxHunter]

Hmmm...I feel I want to be near that person at most times (I mean everyone needs that 'Me Time' sometimes) But I feel the need to be with that person, hanging out, talking, hugging whatever. I feel paralyzed on a special kiss, I feel flight on other kisses, I feel like I have a fever sometimes if he says the right things, and the longer he's my best friend, as just spending time through the years (And bf) the harder it is to let go.  

[Yanto the Dragon Slayer]

Well, i don't know if it would be all too reasonable for me to post a reply.
I've never been in love, i've never had a crush, i've never thought of ever dating....(i am not some pre-pubescent female, i'm happily 14)
but to me love is a commitment, a commitment that i've never really believed in.
I mean, i'm anything BUT anti-love.
i'm not House, i'm not pessimistic, i'm anything but.
but i believe that you have all the fun you want and more without being in love, when i think about it i think of being in love as meaning that i have to spend a lot of time with that person and well, to me that takes a lot of time out of reading, writing, drawing, and the like.
i mean, i'm one of those people who is perfectly content to watch their friends find love, i get ecstatic when one of my close friends start dating someone and i threaten whoever it is that if they hurt so-and-so i'll do whatever.
i don't need the kind of love that comes from having a boyfriend or girlfriend.
that's the kind of person i am.
but if you're the kind of person who DOES believe in true love and having a chance meeting of fate in which you and your true love meet on accident then hey, i totally support that!
i love reading stories like that.
and i love hearing about people speak passionately and lovingly about whoever and seeing them interact.
it brings a wonderful feeling to me.
so i guess to me love is the sort of thing that people can find in different ways.
i find it in seeing my friends in love and acting ever the lover to my best friends(it's funny because many a person has mistaken me and my friend for dating...)
heck, i even have my own juliet!!( heart )
so hey, in the end my rather mindless little speech doesn't really amount to anything.
you can try to read between the lines but have fun finding nothing.
i can assure you that there isn't anything really that important about this.
so feel free to just shrug it off and get on with your life.
i don't really care.
but if you liked it, then i'm glad that you found enjoyment in my rambling.
anywho, this hasn't amounted to much, so whatever.
go on with your life.
g'day.
(now that i think about it, the extent to which my love can extend is close friendship....i can imagine myself VERY lonely in the future....)  

[jesse quick]

I look at love differently to most people I've spoken to. I don't think it's so complicated or so restricted as most people put it out to be.
I believe love is just the feeling that anyone or anything does to give you a sense of elation. Something that makes you deeply happy, more so than anything else. It's something strong and deep.
But it's also whatever you make it. If you think you love someone/thing you probably do 3nodding  

[mitsuki5561]

I'm a romantic and I bet a lot of people will think my definition of love unrealistic. But here it is...

I think love is when you care about someone more than yourself and anyone else.
It's when you simply can't stop thinking of this person no matter how much you try.
It's when this person finds someone else and you feel the burn.
It's when you can't help but not watch that person across the hall.
It's when you dedicate a piece of art to them. (Mine was a song.)
It's when you take the time to actually think, "Is he worth putting myself on the line?"
It's when you tell yourself you don't care but you still feel electricity whenever you're near him.
And it's when you realize you love him enough just to let him be happy with whoever makes him happy.  

[intoxicatingDestruction]

I've got a dark view on love, but I felt like sharing my real view and my story-book view.(I'm a writer)

As a dark poet and fairly strange person, I hate romance. I hate love. I have people who love me, but I don' ever feel it. Sorry.

As a story writer I actually fell in love with one of my book characters, so that slightly depresses me.

Sorry!  

[1snic1]

First off, I do not, absolutely DO NOT, enjoy having an argument, as I trust all people do. But, I very much disagree with the first post. My idea of love is not chemical reaction, it is an emotion, and as such it should be treated like one. Secondly, you were not clear on love in what terms.

Familial love: Is basically when you grow so attached to the people you've grown up with all of your life, to a point that no matter what they do, or how many times you say you hate them, you just can't bring yourself to block them out completely.

Bonded love (couples): I don't have much experience in this area, so all I'll say is that if you truly care about the person you "love" and that person cares for you, then you should be alright. Sure there will be arguments, but who would want to have everything the same everyday?

I rest my case.  

[Fremerezia]

Love to me is a pair of red stiletto boots. heart  

[Curley Whirly]

Love is when you start caring about someone so much, you stop caring so much about yourself.  

[DvnT]

Love is a feeling that has no description. It is a feeling that if you try to describe it, you can go on forever and still not have even scratched the surface of it.
Love is a sea of emotion, and I just a tiny atom drowning in the endless waves of feeling.
Love is a storm cloud over head, rumbling. You can feel it, you can hear it as it speaks, you see it in every move it makes. It is there.
Love is a connection you have with someone on a soul deep level that takes your breath away. It stuns you and leaves you with no words left.
Love is the feeling you get of complete bliss just being in their arms, holding their hand, or seeing them smile.
Love is doing anything and everything in your power to make them happy.
Love is being the most perfect you can be, just to see them smile.
Love is wanting a person in ways you'd've never dreamt of other wise.
Love is a craving you get when you're away from them.
Love is a drug that changes you for life.
Love is a beautiful thing.
Love is exciting and calm, new and old.
Love is trusting and questioning "Do I deserve something this good?"
Love is hope and happiness.
Love is doing things that you wouldn't normally do, because they want it.
Love is scary and friendly.
Love is never questioning "Are they worth it?" It's knowing before you know why, that they are.
Love is acceptance.
Love is not shallow, it sees the beauty of the person inside, not the face.
Love is pure and never harmful.
Love is fun and playful.
Love is honest and caring.
Love is as close to perfection as we can get, all bottled up in one little word.
Love is more than just a chemical reaction, it is a physical need to be with a person.
Love is a longing that will never leave if they are not around.
Love is an attatchment so strong, it's like the bones of your ribs have opened up and wrapped themselves together, pushing your hearts together no matter what.
Love is happiness that reverberates through your whole life.
Love is something so strong that you have no choice but to give into it.
Love is something so sneaky, you don't even know you've fallen in love until it's too late to stop.
Love is the times when you call them just to hear their voice one last time before you go to bed.
Love is when you dream about a person, and when you wake up, you think the last few months have been a part of that dream, and it makes you want to cry because you love them so much.
Love is no longer caring about anything else because they are the only thing that matters anymore.
Love is knowing that if they were to leave you, you wouldn't be able to live.
Love is being so in sync with them, that you know exactly what they are thinking, when you're both silent.
Love is being humble when they say you're special in anyway, just because you'll know they'll keep talking and you can hear their voice, and their laugh, and hear the words flow together so perfectly in a way no one else could have done it, and it makes you believe -if only for the time- that you really are special.
Love is crying, when all you want to do is sing and scream and jump for joy, because the emotions are so strong that you physically can't do anything else.
Love is standing next to them, and thinking "Why would they choose me, if there are people like them in this world?"
Love is the getting warmth you've always wanted just from being in their arms.
Love is being able to feel that they feel the exact same way as you.
Love is the band-aid for the soul, it heals everything.
Love is indescribable.




Love is ... Complicated.

 

[skittlemaster42]

Love doesnt have to apply to a significant other. I love my friends, family, and girlfriend.

Love for friends to me means I'll be there if they need me, even if im in another country at the moment.

Love for family means I'd do anything for them, unconditionally.

Love for a significant other to me means I think that person is the most agreeable person for me on the planet. If im wrong, then so be it, ive been wrong once before.

I refer to family and friends as "love" and the significant other as "in love" just for clarification.  

[Hopeful Bliss]

Love is like glass. It keeps you safe, it puts everything in a different perspective and can be beautiful. When it's broken, it's better to leave it than hurt yourself putting it back together.  

[Breaking The Skyline]

To me love is the feeling i get whenever i find someone i can talk to for hours and never run out of things to say. Someone who can make me laugh even if i'm completely down in the dumps. Someone that knows all the right things to say to make me blush. Someone who i'm not ashamed to be around. Someone who i smile at everytime i see them. And most of all someone who is there no matter what happens. Loyalty is a very important thing to me.