Letter To The Editor: Genuine Love Is A Special Force

Letter To The Editor:

Tis the season of love.

This time of year begets the question "What is Love?" Love (genuine love) is special. It is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It changes people for the better. It can calm an angry man down and it can make a woman feel as if she has wings and roots. Wings for her to be herself without fear of being rejected because she also has roots to secure her love.

People have misconceptions about love. Some believe that it is romance and sex. Some believe that it is something mystical, undefinable. Love is none of those. Love is not a certain behavior. Love is a certain type of behavior. It is the reason for doing something. If you give a hungry poor man a sandwich, that would be an act of love. But if you do that same thing and demand 2 dollars for it, that would not. Love is a gift, not an exchange. Love isn't love until you give it away. Love is unconditional. It is given without conditions, with no strings attached. It is not self-ish. Love is self-less. It is not about you at all. And don't worry about how you are going to fare. Love blesses both you and the other. Love gives you the meaning and purpose that you have contributed something positive to this world. Meaning and purpose is a by-product of loving others. It belongs to only those to whom giving is more important than receiving.

Some of you are afraid of commitment, being stuck in an unhappy marriage. If you take your eyes off of yourself and put it on the loved one, focusing on their happiness not thinking about your own, something magical happens. Surprisingly, when you love others, you make not only them feel better, but also, yourself. It may sound crazy, but it actually works. You can help yourself immensely by simply putting all of your attention on the loved one and completely forgetting about yourself. That good feeling in you is a by-product from loving them. If you want to feel good, then forget about yourself and just love others. Give the gift of love. Make it a life-long behavior. Make it part of your personality.

It even works when you lose someone. In death, you need to grieve. But you can also, when thinking about the departed, console yourself in the knowledge that they are in a better place. You can rejoice about that. It's a loss for you, but a gain for them.

Some people feel awkward about loving others. Others are afraid of being rejected. But we must overcome the obstacles and love anyway. You can do it!

Greg Taylor

Alton

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