What Exactly Is Love?

What Exactly Is Love?

- Dhriti Mishra

Is Love a feeling, an emotion, romance or attraction?

Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. The words that are synonymous to love are tenderness, warmth, intimacy, attachment, endearment, adoration, devotion, worship, passion, idolization etcetera. The list is long. Love on this earth exists in various relationships. The tender love between a mother and a child, the strong bond of attachment between siblings, the doting parent-child relationship, the intimacy between couples, the compassion between mentor and disciple are all but different forms of love. Most profoundly the focus lies on romantic love.

The romantic notion of that one special person, with whom we have a passionate, intense relationship, is a product of our time and culture. These days, we are living with a paradox regarding our need for other people in our life. Our cultures, across the globe are caught up in celebrating ferocious independence, yet we yearn for intimacy, interdependence, and a deep connection with that someone special. We focus all our energies on finding that one person whom we hope will heal our loneliness yet we prop up our illusion that we are still independent.