On Love

[BeardofPants]

Were you going for an enema?

[Lizra]

I'm loosening up! All that sugary sap.....

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Ñólendil

Everyone's entitled to say what they want about love, but I wasn't quite going for enigma. *shrugs*

But I was in an enigma mood! (it's so fun to be female! )

"Love acts" and "Love is a choice".

What do you mean by these statements?

I'll start with "love acts". What I meant was that to me, true love is not just a warm, wonderful feeling (altho it often manifests itself that way). If a person doesn't act towards the beloved, it's not love. (hmm, I can see I'm not explaining this well ... let me try some more.)

One of my kids is having trouble with doing his homework - he just doesn't like to do it! (an entirely normal feeling and one his mother shared!) and has failed to turn in some homework, thus earning a big fat zero. However, D's are unacceptable in our family, if one has the capacity to have A's and B's, because getting a D is a moral issue if you're smart enough for As and Bs - it's NOT an issue of lack of intelligence. I was explaining how it was easier for me to just ignore it and let him get D's, but because I loved him, I was going to choose to take the harder route of monitoring his homework more and following up on his test grades more closely, because it's easier to work on this problem when he's younger than when he's older. At this age, his problem means D's; in his 20's and 30's, it means losing jobs and trust.

My love for him prompted me to ACT and choose something that made my life more difficult, but will help him.

On a happier note, love acts when there's NO problem (like the above example), either. My love for my husband prompted me to make the special effort to make his favorite dinner the other night, when I could have made something a lot easier. My attitude was not "oh, this is so much more work!"; it was "oh, how pleased he'll be to see his favorite dinner! I can't wait!" My love is NOT like "I love him but I'll never stir one inch outside of my convenience for him." My love for him prompts me to ACT and GIVE, and do it in joy. Love seeks to actively give, IMO.