Really, what IS love? How do we humans make that connection that is described as love? Are we talking about God’s love? Or, Shakespeare’s kind of love? Or, the movie makers’ kind of love? The definition of love seems to have changed over the eons of time.
Here is a computer definition of love – an intense feeling of deep affection. For example, babies fill parents with feelings of love. There are, of course, some similar words that relate to love. Words like deep affection, tenderness, intimacy, endearment, idolization, worship … I could go on and on and on!
Most of us may be have seen the movie based on one of Jane Austen’s books, Sense and Sensibility. Marianne (Kate Winslet) says to her sister Elinor (Emma Thompson), “Is love a fancy, or a feeling …?” As it turns out, this question is part of a poem written some twenty years after Austen’s novel was written¸ the novel that was the springboard for the movie. That’s okay, it works in the film!
So, love – is it a fancy or a feeling? Let’s get right to it. How do you define love? I love my family. I love the rock club. I love rocks – especially, I love amethyst. Here is my poem written for the Tips and Chips Newsletter for the rock club. It was published in the February 2021 issue. It is very personal for me. I hope you enjoy it.
Love
WHAT IS LOVE?
Can Love be defined?
Love is a postage stamp
That says Love.
Love is your babe gently
Brushing your eyelashes.
Love is a puppy
Running to greet you.
Love is children
Jumping into a pile of leaves.
Love is a neighbor
Shoveling your sidewalk.
Love is your adult child
Bringing you flowers.
And, it’s not your birthday
Love is a good memory
Escaping from the depths
Of remembering,
Love is a letter
From someone from long ago.
.Love is a discount
On the car repairs.
Love is attending
A children’s performance.
Love is voting in
A national election.
Or, a local election.
Love is
Mowing the lawn.
Or, cooking a meal.
Love is a kiss
From your loved one.
Love is
A heart shaped amethyst.
Be safe and well.
The Cranky Crone
If you have thoughtful feedback or questions, please let me know with a comment below.
3 replies on “Is Love a Feeling or a Fancy?”
Love is a sibling willing to leave her work, her home, her life, to care for your newborn child for 18 months.
Love is a grandmother willing to leave her work, her home, her husband, her life, to educate that same newborn child for two years when she is 7 or 8 years old.
Love is the grandfather who is willing to adapt to life without the wife who is absent for those two years, and later, who is willing to take a LONG flight with the first sibling to visit said newborn and her sister and parents, in a far-off land (even though the thought of doing so is terrifying for him).
Love is enduring. Even after we are gone, the love we held for others continues… I hope it’s part of our DNA. It’s a nice thought.
Love is having a friend call to check in on you when your husband is out of town and you are lonely and sad.
Love is sharing your Furry friend with someone who loves the pup as much as you do (and the pup loves both in return!).