A Simple And Complex Word: Definition Of Love

Humans have been trying to define love for a long time. We are touched by sincere love between Romeo and Juliet; we tearful to selfless love between Jack and Rose in Titanic; we also affected by determining love between Eurydice and Orpheus. Most of us are focused on romantic love, but always neglect some primitive, powerful, and wide love. Love is a pure emotion, it is hard to be defined specifically. From my perspective, love is about three aspects, family, oneself, and the world.

The first love mentioned in the Bible is parental love, rather than romantic love. Love is not the first word we learned but is the first word we felt. Before we were born, our families were full of expectation and love for us. They provide us with unconditional love after we were born. I did not really know what is love when I was a child. I just remembered my mother always said, “I love you” to me. When I memorized my childhood, I understood love is a feeling of joy and safety. My parents did not love me less because I was born a daughter, they gave me a blissful childhood. I am not afraid when I face the darkness and challenges, because I know my parents are behind me. Some people say that we cannot always choose our family, and there are some conflicts among family members. Despite these limitations, family love still happens more often than not. Also, we learned love is respect, responsibility, and acceptation due to these limitations. We will respect each other, accept responsibility for this family, and accept everyone’s different because we deeply love each other. When we grow up, we will find a best friend and a sweet partner. These pleasant relationships will be incorporated into the family in the end.

According to the Oxford Dictionaries, love is “a great liking, strong emotional attachment” (“Love, n. 1.”). This attachment not only exists interpersonal but also between us and the subject. We explore the world with curiosity, and we will find a thing that we truly interested in. For example, I was interested in writing when I was in elementary school. I also joined a class at the weekend and read a lot of books to improve my writing skills. Writing is an uninteresting and humdrum work for some people, but it is like one of my friends to me. I always want to record everything, no matter it was happy or sad. I cannot define whether writing is my passion, but it makes my life more meaningful and colorful. A thing we truly love not just an avocation, it is a power supports us to become better and better, and inspired our enthusiasm to live. Ludwig Van Beethoven is a distinguished classical music master, and he deeply loves music. He said “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents” (Ludwig). Unfortunately, be eaten up with the disease makes his last life more untoward. Especially, deafness is a serious hit to a musician, but the love of music supported him through this tough term.

In addition, the Oxford Dictionaries also explains the other definition of love. Love is “a feeling or disposition of benevolent attachment experienced towards a group or category of people, and (by extension) towards one's country or another impersonal object of affection” (“Love, n. 1.”). We give love broader meanings in contemporary. It is about equality and universality. I still remembered that heartbreak moment, I saw a photo of a scrawny boy. His family abandoned him because they thought he is a witch, but a young charity worker gave him water and food, wrapped him in a blanket, and held him in her arms. Love is irrelevant to race and religion, it is pure emotion. Also, a couple from America, Becca, and Dan, who already have two boys, made a decision to adopt a Chinese orphan girl in 2015. They wanted to give this little girl a contented family. After few months, I found this little girl became more vivacious, and she also learned how to love the people around her. Love is borderless. Although we come from different countries, we love each other, and we are family. Love is equal and expansive, no matter race, religion, and nationality. When we love others, they will learn how to love more people and this world.

Love is a simple word because we say “I love you” every day. Love is also a complex word; it will have more different meanings in every era. It is hard to give a precise definition of love because love is love, all definitions are derivative of it. Therefore, everyone will have diverse definitions of love. In a nutshell, my definition of love is an unconditional, passionate, and humanistic emotion.