"What is Love?"
What is love?/Baby, don't hurt me/Don't hurt me no more. . .
Congratulations, you now have one of the most annoying "ear worms" stuck in your head. Haddaway's hit "What is Love?" was big in 1993. In last week's Romance/Love Newsletter,
NaNoNette talked about the difference between love and romance (see "
Romance/Love Newsletter (July 30, 2014)"
). This week, I'd like to elaborate on exactly what love is to me.
Love is not a cliche like "never having to say I'm sorry" or a "battlefield." Love is developed over time and transcends place. It is not always perfect; it is possible to love someone even when you are angry at them. In fact, I would argue that those moments when you
are angry, but eventually learn from your anger, help strengthen the love.
"Love" may be an abstract concept, but it has some real, tangible aspects. Holding hands, kisses, hugs, giving small gifts, these are all aspects of love that we can see. But love goes way beyond what we let others see. It's something that really cannot be put into words.
I guess that's why I've always been picky about the kinds of romance stories and love poems that I enjoy. I am a big advocate for erasing all cliches from our vocabulary about love. That means I'm likely not to read many poems about red roses, and yes, songs from the 80's and early 90's kind of annoy me too.
Love isn't a one-size-fits all concept, so why should we write about it like it is?