An All Consuming Word

We think with words. Words organize and put meaning into our thoughts. Except for emotions, words define our thoughts. We use words to communicate with others – written and spoken. The wealth of ideas – good, bad, profound, enduring – can only be expressed in words. Without words we are mute, uncommunicative, and alone with only our uncontrolled emotions. Words are vital and they do, they must, have meaning.

We learned many years ago that words are divided into four basic categories – nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, Nouns name things – cat, dog, banana. Verbs define an action – run, play, fight. Adjectives describe and give flavor and substance to a noun  -beautiful, red, wholesome. Adverbs define and give flavor to a verb.

There is a word that is both noun and verb. It has been used for centuries in the English language and it defies a precise meaning. Again and again we’ve used it in countless different circumstances and we’ve left it to the listener to give it meaning. It is fungible, it is imprecise, and it is profound. The word is “love”.

I’m told that the Eskimos have many different names for that white, frozen, flaky substance that we in the south call “snow”. They have different names that define the different characteristics of the “snow” that in many ways controls their lives. Is it light and fluffy, is it hard and crystalline, is it heavy and moist, is it life threatening? We in current day America , in a starved language that limits us to 140 characters in a text,  use the word “love”  in so many contexts without bothering to define the countless nuances that hide behind that word. A teenage boy will say “I love you.” to score with a young girl who places a different meaning on love. A young couple at the altar will say “I love you” with a profound and deep meaning. A daughter at the bedside of her mother leaving life will say “I love you.”  as a fond farewell.

“Love” is a deep and tangled umbrella word that covers so many shades of meaning. Does it mean:

Admiration,

Respect,

Affection,

Trust,

Liking,

Adoration,

Infatuation,

Attachment,

Longing,

Lust,

Desire,

Appreciation,

Devotion,

Understanding,

Support,

Companionship,

Fidelity,

Friendship,

or any combination?

And then, how long does this ”love” endure? How long is this “love” attachment to last? A few moments until orgasm stops?  A few weeks/months until another “love” speaker appears? A lifetime between two who have examined their true meanings of love? Through all eternity embracing the love of God?

I don’t know. I just wish we all would examine and say what we truly mean when we speak that word “Love”