Thursday, May 21, 2015

Searching for an answer to the question Haddaway voiced for us all:

What is love?

Plato had a Theory of Forms which essentially states that there are non-material "Forms" which are perfect and ideal, but which the material world (although continually trying to reach this fundamental purity) cannot achieve.

What does this mean? Well it kind of invalidates Webster (sorry, dude) since dictionary definitions are an attempt to give words an exact meaning. Words do have an exact meaning, but according to this theory they cannot be accurately articulated.

Basically, the answer to the question, "What is love?" cannot be verbalized.

Disappointed? I sure was, initially. But you see, no one asks this question out of interest the definition of the word "love"; it's asked because people want to understand the concept (or Form, if you will) of love. Alright, so it's not something we can explicitly define (which is difficult anyway since it's an emotion) but that doesn't mean understanding it is a hopeless wish.

I made the mistake of trying to understand it via logic.
I dissected the word "love". I broke it down to a science (like a true engineer). I plotted out which questions needed to be answered in what order, and systematically attempted to answer each question. All this work only to discover that each question brought up even more questions, or would lead back to formerly unanswered questions.

I had to tear myself away from this method, since the only thing I was getting out of it was a headache. Upon giving up, I suddenly felt as though I understood love - when I wasn't thinking.

So what is love?

Well you know, it's... love. Maybe we have such a difficult time understanding love because we can't articulate it. But it's so deeply rooted that it's almost like instinct. Being in love isn't like having someone complete you, rather it's that someone is an extension of you. That person's needs become of equal priority to your own. Love: we can recognize it, we feel it; deep down we understand it. No definition necessary.


Love is beautiful and painful. Relationships are hard, but in some ways... love is easy.


This week's Weekly Distraction

No comments:

Post a Comment