Love, the Concept

The word "love" is thrown around a lot without much consideration.
Wise are those who profess that they have never been in love.

They aren't wise because they chose not to be in love - for it is not
of their choosing. They are wise because love is such a powerful
and enigmatic thing that they don't want to throw the word around
if they are unsure.

Infatuations and crushes are not even in the same caliber with true love.
However, they are often mistaken for love by the naive. People get a
funny feeling in their heart (or more accurately, stomach) and BOOM
they pronounce it love. Hardly.

Love is permanent and it is painful. Love attaches itself to you as
though you have discovered another part of your body that was previously
hidden from your perception. It operates in every system of your body and
you soon discover that it is necessary for survival - even when it is injured.

Love is eternal. You cannot fall OUT of love with anyone. That is like saying,
"I use to have a heart, but now I do not." If you think you used to be in love
but now you are not, you are mistaken. It was never love but something else.

How do you know if you are in love? The feeling (and I use that term way to loosely for it is much more that), when examined,
is patient. It will wait forever for the fruition of the relationship for it sees no other choice. There are no ultimatums in real love.
It also keeps no record of offenses and never holds the offender permanently accountable. It is a ONE-WAY street. It only flows
away from you. If love flows to you it is only because it comes from another's one-way street.

Love motivates toward a relationship. A relationship is steadfast work. Therefore, love motivates work. If you are lazy at your
relationship, you probably aren't in love with anyone. Love is inconvenient but is worth all the problems. Finally, love separates
us from the world in which we are confined. It is the only thing that can remove us from this awful place we live and allows us to
dwell in a higher plane of existence.

These things are components of real love and they ALL must be present for it to be considered love. One or two of these
attributes are not enough. Love is only fashioned by the divine.