Is love indefinable? An emotion? A chemical reaction? Spiritual Connection? A gift? A curse? More than virtually any other emotion or feeling felt by humans, love has been studied, written about, sung about, and generally been the center of numerous genres of art, music, cinema, literature, and theater. In the end though, do we as humans truly understand love? Should we understand love?
Love is. While this may sound like an easy way out, I believe that trying to define why you love someone and put parameters or boundaries on that love is counterproductive. I can tell you why I like someone, trust someone, and want to be around someone, as well as feel attracted to someone. The emotion though, the feeling, that particular connection with the Tao that is love should not be fit into a mold. To do so diminishes the possibilities not only for the love you feel for that person(s) in particular but also for the world and people around you.
Does this mean love should be uncompromising in the face of adversity? Yes. Does this mean that you should ignore the nature of the person you love or believe that the love you feel will in some way shift that nature? No. Unconditional love is not an excuse for self-destruction. Conversely, nature and preservation are not an excuse to ignore unconditional love.
This may seem like a dichotomy, a paradox. Unconditional love without boundaries is, by its very definition boundless. If that is true, then unconditional love should, at all times, over ride any barrier that is placed before it. Knowing this and feeling unconditional love does not limit the understanding though that there are situations that are dangerous or untenable. The love exists. Self sacrifice however is a completely different conversation.
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