What is Love?

It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of person kind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely. –Leo Buscaglia

Love is that itchy twitchy feeling, right? It’s all about the feelings.

Well, folks, that just isn’t so. It certainly begins when your senses take over. Unfortunately English used “love” to describe everything from ice cream to a special person. It if looks good, feels good, smells good, sounds good and tastes good…it must be love.

Perhaps a step back and a do-over. Those sensory attractions may bring us to a relationship with something or someone, but it’s what happens afterwards that creates Love. Here’s a couple of YouTube videos of a little girl with a terrible illness. Watch and listen to what she says love is.

Then decide that love is a verb and not a noun. It’s all about what you DO, not about how you feel.

Little Children Tell Us About Love

  • When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.”Rebecca – age 8
  • “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy – age 4
  • “Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri – age 4
  • “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny – age 7
  • “Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.” Emily – age 8
  • “Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears everyday.” Noelle – age 7
  • “Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy – age 6
  • “During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” Cindy – age 8
  • “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine – age 5
  • “Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris – age 7
  • “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann – age 4
  • “You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica – age 8

One Final Note

And the final one…

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s house, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

“Nothing, I just helped-ed him cry.”

If you want to feel what love feels, you have to do what love does. Find out what blesses your significant other and those you “love” and do it often and do it well.