Love

Love is an abstract concept and, as such, related to itself, in itself, it is nothing. But it means alot to most people in the world as expressing a feeling that comes and grows in, before, or after a relationship; as such I will treat it here to the best of my ability. True love, it is believed, is only felt in the absence of the other, yearned for, longed for, one who feels the same or even the one with an indifferent calm. But this is not love, this is longing. Then how are we to define or come to some understanding of not only what love means but also the nature and essence of love. These questions, I believe, in this instance, cannot be answered apart from within experience, experience of love growing over time. "I know what love is": without a definition, means I have been there, I have experienced it. Nevertheless, I believe, one who has felt love can describe it, although it takes several words to do so: approval, recognition, respect, trust, devotion, reliance, reciprocity, etc. The heart of love, I believe, is dedication and reconciliation in the bond of trust. The first increases as a result of the second. But one must want to forfeit ones freedoms to the will of the other, in exchange for reciprocity. People must be able to work through their problems for at the end of the tunnel of struggle and strife is the light of love.