What is love? This question has been asked so many times and yet everyone you may have asked have most likely had a completely different answer. In truth, love is just a word. It’s a word every single person defines on their own. It’s an abstraction and just as with many other emotions, no one can really claim to know the single true meaning of it.
That being said, it is hard for me to understand why do we so often try to judge other people’s perception of love. Too often do we hear others telling us that we do not know what true love is, we haven’t been through what they have been, it’s impossible to fall in love so quickly or it’s just infatuation or desire and not true love. But how can we even know that? To my knowledge, none of us possesses the power to get into other person’s soul and feel what they are really feeling. Why don’t we stop judging?
There are roughly 6500 languages actively spoken in the world today. Each and every one of them is a convention and each and every one of them is somehow distinct. There are so many instances of words that exist in one language and do not in the other. It’s really tough to express the same emotions or literally translate from one language to another. And yet, we even use words in order to express things we believe that words cannot express. We have gone as far as to invent words and expressions that mean just that – inexplicable, ineffable, indescribable, beyond words.
Let us not forget that these are just invented tools (and not the only ones we possess) that were supposed to help us communicate more clearly with each other, even though so often they are the exact cause of misunderstandings between people. Let us use these tools wisely and even if just for a moment, remind ourselves of all the other means of communication and expression that we have. Think of all the ways you can communicate things to other people around you without using words. Simply freeze the moment and try to feel what you are feeling without trying to put these emotions into words. Doesn’t it feel liberating?
If you haven’t done it for a long while, being silent and free of thoughts can at first feel scary and weird. However, this is our true nature. This is where we get back to our core. The soul does not speak words. Once you listen and reconnect with your true spirit, you will find all the answers you may have been looking for. They are all there – in silence.
Profound…
Thank you! 🙂
“Love is an abstraction”… I like that. By trying to define it with words, we lose it in translation. I agree, it’s time to stop judging. Great post and so appropriate for not only during this season, but all year round. 🙂
Exactly! Thank you!
“Simply freeze the moment and try to feel what you are feeling without trying to put these emotions into words.” I’ve never thought to try this but I really like the idea. At first go it’s kind of difficult though! Thanks for the thoughts and keep up the good writing!
Yeah, it might feel quite weird at first, but it’s totally worth it! With time you can actually train your mind to keep this sort of deep feeling of the moment throughout the day.
Thanks for stopping by!
“Words entangle. But if one can understand the whole significance of the ways of one’s thought, the ways of our desires and their pursuits and ambitions, then there is a possibility of having or understanding that which is love. But that requires an extraordinary understanding of oneself. […] Love is not a sentiment, not romanticism, not dependent on something, and that state is extremely arduous and difficult to understand, or to be in—because our minds are always interfering, limiting, encroaching upon its functioning. Therefore it is important to understand first the mind and its ways; otherwise we shall be caught in illusions, caught in words and sensations that have very little significance.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
Brilliant quote, I love it!
I was just thinking about this very topic today. It’s true, love is subjective…however, we do know what love is not…anger, violence, selfish, etc. So the process of elimination can sometimes help us understand when we aren’t receiving/giving love.
Love is no definition <3