A Little Thing Called Love

When you hear someone talk about love, what is your definition of that word? One result of the mysterious nature of love is that no one has ever, to my opinion, arrived at a truly satisfactory definition of love. M. Scott Peck, M.D, the author of New York Times Bestseller book’s The Road Less Traveled define love as ‘the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth’. Deep, eh? Let’s talk about that meaning now.
First, it may be noticed that it is a teleological definition; the behavior is defined in terms of the goal or purpose it seems to serve-in this case, spiritual growth. Second, it may be noticed that, as defined, love is a strangely circular process. When one has successfully extended one’s limit, one has then grown into a larger state of being. Third, this unitary definition of love includes self-love with love for the other. Since you are human as I am, so to love humans means to love myself as well as you. Fourth, the act of extending one’s limit implies effort. Love is not effortless, to the contrary, love is effortful. Finally, by using the word “will” attempted to transcend the distinction between desire and action. Those are according to a Professor’s way of thinking and interpretation.
Now, as a practitioner of love in day to day life, what do you think of love? What is your interpretation when you hear someone say the word of love? As for myself, I have no idea. I can say a nice and beautiful words about love at some points, but in another time I can also say all the ugly words about love in my own interpretation. One think for sure, love is a pretty thing with a not so pretty consequences. Every time you fall in love, there is a risk of broken heart at the end of it.
The myth of romantic love tells us, in effect, that for every young man in the world there is a young woman who was “meant for him” and vice versa. But that tale does not always come true. When we meet the person whom we are intended, recognition comes through the fact that we fall in love. We have the person for whom all the heavens intended us, and since the match is perfect, we will then be able to satisfy all of each other’s needs forever and ever, and therefore live happily ever after in perfect union and harmony. Should it comes to pass, however, that we do not satisfy or meet all of each other’s needs and friction arises and we fall out of love, then it’s clear that a dreadful mistake was made, we misread the stars, we did not hook up with our one and only perfect match, what we thought was love was not real or “true’” love, and nothing can be done about the situation except to live unhappily ever after or get divorced. That’s not a myth nor a tale. That is life.
So yeah, I guess there are so many misconceptions about love in every level. But the most important think to know is, you can interpreted love with your own words, but love itself can not be describe by any words. Love is sometime a feeling, sometime an action, sometime nothing at all. That was my interpretation of love. You don’t have to be agreed with me, though.
^_^

Source : The Road Less Traveled, A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck, M.D