Aside from Morrison''s definition which revolves solely around the friendship type of love, Oxford''s English Dictionary rovides a broader definition, stating, "a feeling or disposition of deep affection or fondness for someone, typically arising from a recognition of attractive qualities, from natural affinity, or from sympathy and manifesting itself in concern for the other''s welfare and pleasure in his or her presence. " Love, however, also according to Oxford''s English Dictionary, can also mean "an abstract quality or principle. " Well then, what is love?
Love is unquantifiable, obsessive, and elusive, an integral part of the human experience, and an enormous contradiction. It is a steep mountain. It is magic. It is relatable. It is compassionate. It is love. Derived from the Old Saxon and Old German versions of the word "luga," meaning inclination, love has been a commonly used word for centuries. Love as a general concept is rarely represented with one point-blank definition because everyone experiences it differently. It must be narrowed down to a less broad description. What one person considers love, may be what another person considers mere infatuation.
In order to determine what it may be considered, an understanding of he different types of love must be established. Generally speaking, there are four different types of love: romantic, friendship, unconditional, and circumstantial. Romantic love being the most popular, many examples exist in popular culture, as well as literary works such as characters in The Great Gatsby, Romeo & Juliet, and Pride & Prejudice. Romantic love displays the type of love in romantic relationships which may also contain infatuation, avoiding the idea of false loves and lust.
False love is a love seen in someone else or something, but may not match up to a efinition of "true love". An example of this is be what some people consider young love or "puppy'' love to equate to or the love that a teenager may feel for their iPhone or their car. Lust is a mere physical or emotional attraction to someone or something, without actively becoming attached in a way that life would unbearable without that person or thing involved. A love in friendship depends on your relationships with your companions. People often define romantic love based on its difference from friendship love.
Would you kiss your friend? Perhaps, but it is not necessarily the hings you do with your romantic partner that makes your love romantic. Romantic love is often confused with infatuation because it is all consuming. Romantic love both guides and clouds a person''s mind in choosing the correct decision. Friendship love is a milder type of love, and although it can be very strong, it is the emotional intensity of romantic love that forever changes the simplicity of the love between friends. Friendship is a warm feeling between people. A person naturally wants to be remedy that feeling of hurt.
Friends who love each other want to make each other appy and only through dedication, compassion, and sincerity, is this possible. Unconditional love is the type of eternal love that exists beyond any fault or error a person has and despite the state of a relationship. Throughout any discrepancies, the love between those two individuals continues to exist. Love, through all forms, simultaneously evokes exhilaration, despair, Joy, and derision. One of my first experiences of unconditional love occurred when I was only four years old.
It was the first time my mother was truly mad at me, and I had not even known how to react to he situation. I was never in trouble for anything and being the only child at home; I was never tattled or picked on by others. One day, however, my best friend in the neighborhood and I were in a fight. Words were exchanged and as it turns out, I was a very temperamental toddler. As a result of this, of course, I was put in time out, which seemed like the end of the world to me. I thought my mom hated me for my actions. I didn''t understand that she was only punishing me to prove a lesson to me and to set an example, not to make me feel unloved.
Later, however, I knew that she id continue to love me despite my flaws when she brought me a big bowl of mac and cheese, and with that, my four year old heart was satisfied. Love is expressed through romance, friendship, and family. Love can be unconditional. It can be material. It can be circumstantial. The various types of love can be easily exemplified and identified in relatable examples in everyday life. Through romantic comedies, the holiday known as Valentine''s Day, family sitcoms, gossip sites reporting on celebrity couples, friendships, and feuds, and the idea that "All you need is love... according to he Beatles, society is presented with many different definitions of the term love and is made to believe that it is inherently necessary for survival. Iconic couples such as Romeo and Juliet, Darcy and Elizabeth, Gatsby and Daisy, Bert and Ernie, Harry and Hermione, and Ross and Rachel, display the many forms of love, including both romantic and through the deep connection which stems from friendship. Love is like hate because it stems from deep within the soul, and has much history behind how it forms in relationship between two people. As Bruce Lee once said, "Love is like a friendship caught on fire.
In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable. " Despite what people think, love is not a straightforward definition, and the correct connotation to the word can be ruthlessly argued over, however, all forms of love have one thing in common—they all display a deep caring and compassion for another person or thing, and love itself is the ultimate warrior which can withstand many timeless battles. Love in life is worth the search.
Feelings of affection and devotion that love brings are irreplaceable and untouchable. The feeling of love can touch a person''s life forever and leave an imprint never to be forgotten. There is no other feeling that can compare to love, and the understanding that love equates to empathy and understanding is a life lesson worth learning. Love is essential to human existence and it is the very definition of a compassionate contradiction. "Discover the Story of English More than 600,000 Words, over a Thousand Years. " Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, n. d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.
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