Meaning of Love: an Elusive Enigma

"Tis better to have loved and lostman-woman, brother-sister, God-devotee.
Than never to have loved at all."You know you are in love when you feel the influence
- Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem In Memoriam: 27, 1850of another person is more imposing on your thought
People, through the centuries, have wondered aloud,process than your own ideas and opinions. You start
and otherwise, their thoughts on the four letter wordthinking in terms of the person you are in love with.
that encapsulates a tempest in a tea-cup. They haveYou want to make yourself worthy of that person,
boasted of theories and jumped to conclusions. Theyplacing that person on the higher pedestal always. You
have dug up the roots of the human body and mind toare always in doubt as to what you should do to
come up with satisfactory answers. They havemake him or her happy and what you should not. You
conducted experiments, organized discussions, pooledare willing to take the hurt and blame on yourself
opinions, studied behavioral pie-charts and tried in everyrather than let your loved one crease forehead in
which way to describe the feeling of love. Yet theworry. You feel the whole world is against you and no
same people get boggled when confronted with theone is your friend. You live in a world of your own
same predicament in their own lives. So what is love?where entry is restricted only to people who
The definition of love is like a secluded island, deep inunderstand the value of that world.
the heart of the sea. Anyone trying to reach can only"Who wants a cynic who knows the price of
come close but cannot touch land. Similarly you caneverything and the value of nothing?"- asked Oscar
only 'try' to define love; your definition may be correctWilde. The meaning of love cannot be explained to the
to an extent but it can never hit the bull's eye. Thecynics; if you have it in you, you grasp the meaning
reason is not your incompetence; it is just that thewithout a word being spoken. If you do not feel the
definition is in the perception of the person trying towarmth melting your heart, no one can drill it into the
define it and perceptions vary. So, instead of trying tofrigid interiors of your soul. Love is what makes two
do the impossible, lets just dwell on the flavor of lovepersons sit close to each other on a bench, when
and forget the recipe behind it!there's plenty of space on the sides. Love is when
Love is a word that captures the essence of both thethey walk off separate ways, without speaking a
profound and the profane. Love songs and balladsword all along, and still feel they have had the best
seem melodious to the person who has not been in aconversation of their life. Love is also like the sand that
man-woman relationship also. In fact, limiting the facetsslips through your fingers the more you try to grab it
of love in the confines of the words 'I Love You' istighter. So express your love to your loved ones by
shutting out its aura to a great extent. You cannotfree love greetings and love cards now. Tomorrow
determine which form of love is purer: child-mother,may not come with the same streak of luck!