Let me try to capture its meaning here.
First, I checked the dictionary. I've been told ever since I was a child, that whenever there is a word I don't understand, I should consult Merriam Webster. As a seven-year-old, I didn't quite get their drift. I didn't know that what they meant by "consult Merriam Webster" was that I should look it up in the dictionary. I just thought the person was some guru who knew all the answers to life's questions. But this is another story.
This is what I found. The All New Edition of Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus says that "Love" is a noun that means warm affection; sexual passion; sweetheart and score for nothing.
I was taken aback.
"Score for nothing?!" I incredulously exclaimed. All that hype on Love and Webster tells me it's nothing?
If the five-pound book could talk, it would have told me: "You stupid moron. Did you actually think a dictionary would give you that sought-after enlightenment? Do the world a favor and stick your head in the center of this book and slam it shut as hard as you can."
Well, suffice it to say that Webster never gave me the kind of answers I was looking for. And I was only exaggerating on that score for nothing bit. I know that "love" is also used as a tennis term; and it means zero. Added info: the French thought that zero looks like an egg, which is l'ouef in French,and somewhere along the way l'ouef became love.
After a day of intensive therapy after a horrendous panic attack, I was ready to begin writing again. This time I opted for word dissection which, as you may have guessed, wasn't much help either. Here's what I came up with:
Love... love...well.... epiphany! ‘Love’ can be split up into two words, L-O and V-E. LO, (as in 'lo and behold!) are words used to attract attention or show surprise. And VE… well, it isn’t in the dictionary. However, after some deep contemplation (and a quick review of my now-forgotten Spanish), I THINK that LO and VE, if used in the same sentence means "to see".
Nice.
Actually, it's more than nice. It's kinda cool, really.
From what I’ve heard, people in love see each other for what they truly are. So it fits quite nicely, don't you think?
Then again, it could also mean to see the years of bitterness and resentment that are bound to follow, or to have an skewed sense of reality. But hey, it's all in the interpretation.
So now I’m confused. Love is a good thing, right? But isn't love another form of sacrifice? When you love, you tend to lose yourself. You give your all just to make sure that the one you love doesn't experience the kind of pain you are experiencing. Love is a paradox. How come people always tell me it's all worth it?
I think people should get a license to use that word in a body of writing -- or even just to use it in a sentence. They should have at least some type of certification class, just to make sure they really know what they are talking about. One shouldn't go hurling out that four-letter noun. It can be dangerous.
Speaking of hurling things around, what was I talking about again? I got sidetracked.
Ah yes! The definition of the word love. Well, in all honesty, I’m not sure that I’m the best person to even attempt to explain the feeling. I’ve never successfully completed the whole ‘in love’ cycle. In fact, I’m pretty certain that I haven’t even started despite numerous attempts with several different guys.
The torturous cycle called "falling in love" involves two people, usually a guy and a girl and... stuff. The stuff varies depending on the two people. I cannot even begin to comprehend or unravel the mystery underlying that "stuff". Why do people "fall" anyway? This term alone should alert people that getting intimate requires some emotional (or some other kind of) bruising.
All in all, I am not such a credible source on the whole being 'in love' thing or the ‘cycle’, much less Love per se, in all its glorious mess. A writer should have at least a little experience in what she’s going to write about. Like they always say, "Write what you know". I, however, only have extensive experience in the "trying and failing" part.
So maybe, I was wrong at attempting to define love. Or LO and BEHOLD! -- maybe no one can truly define such a word. VE, I shouldn't have even started writing this piece! I should have tried some other word in Webster's trusty dictionary – like CONFUSION, perhaps?