Love ... It is a binding force that unites and holds us from the day we are born. The word love evokes a multitude of different emotions and exists equally in as many forms. It has been said that love is easier to experience than to explain. To explain love, would not give justice to the power of emotions felt, however our understanding of love is one that can be shared. Love has inspired artists, philosophers, musicians and writers to do just that, to share the beauty, deceptions and mystery of love.
We have held throughout history a longing to delve into the workings of this incredible force. We have attempted to define it, mystify it, and have even deified love. In Irish mythology we see the representation of fertility and passionate love through Aine and that of beauty, youth and sensual love through Aonghus. Some of the more famous deities being found in Roman and Greek mythology have inspired countless texts. These include, Cupid, Aphrodite and Venus the Goddesses of beauty, and Eros the God of passionate love. They are still talked about to this day and have found their way into modern day language.
Agape, in Greek refers to love but in particular its roots stem to the meaning of a pure love, the love of the soul. It also has similar definitions equivalent to that of Eros which is defined as a passionate love. Plato defined eros as an appreciation of the beauty within a person and an eventual appreciation of beauty itself. According to Plato, Eros enables the soul to recall the knowledge of beauty in its spiritual truth. As in Plato's definition of love, one thing is often heard from those in love. The world appears brighter, the flowers smell sweeter and the sun shines brighter. Aristotle took the definition of love further. He described love as loyalty to friends and family. It is something that requires virtue and equality. His views encompass the various forms of love that we posses for those around us and the world we live in.
In the New Testament, agape is referred to as a love that is charitable and unconditional. It is the love that is aspired to, that of which is spread across humanity. This resonating belief can be found in numerous religious texts. In the Jewish Torah, the Gospel of Mark, it states "love your neighbour as yourself." The Bodhistattva, in Tibetan Buddhism embellishes selfless unconditional love towards all living creatures. Prema in Hindu refers to elevated love.
So whether love is Eros, the passionate sensual desire or philia the virtuous loyal love of friends and community, there is a common thread between all cultures and religions. It is the desire to love and be loved in all possible forms. From that of our parents, the faith in which we choose, the one we aspire to pass our lives with and a love with open hands towards humanity. With this in mind we are all beings seeking the same desires. If we take away words such as fear, jealousy, and stress and take a step back to look at the world with the eyes of a love that we all long to experience, then we would find that we are not so different from each other after all.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres."
Saint Paul
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