Love

Love is something that is. You cannot create or destroy love.

Love of another person is like an attachment to that person. It connects us.

The best example that I can give is of a mother and child. A baby grows within the womb of the mother. The umbilical cord is the physical attachment between the mother and fetus, and the fetus cannot survive without it. During pregnancy, all the way until delivery, that mother has that connection to that baby, and invariably loves that baby, as much or more than she loves her own arm.

Any comparison is flawed. You might think that this comparison is crazy, but is their some truth in it? Do you love your arm? Do you take care of it when it is hurt? Do you protect it? Do you nourish it? Do you hold it? You probably even went to the trouble of teaching it to do things, even though it was difficult. Now, do you feel the same way about other people’s arms? 

Attachments can be physical and emotional. Married couples often divorce when they feel their emotional attachment has been broken, when they feel that they no longer love that person. What couples forget is that they can be attached to each other in multiple ways. Just because one bond was broken, doesn’t mean that love has ended, any more than a broken arm means the arm should be amputated. Of course, if the arm jeopardizes the health of the rest of the body, then separation is certainly a consideration. 

Love of one’s religion, love of God, is also an attachment of sorts. Often, it is such a strong attachment that it causes individuals to go overboard. Just as love results in many murder/suicide cases, religious fundamentalist often advocate killing people who jeopardize their religion and their love of God. In this way, love can cause people to act irrationally. I think that may be due to people thinking that love is a connection through the heart. If that were true, everyone who lost a loved one would die, but they don’t.

If someone looses a loved one, it is a terribly painful experience. Emotionally, you feel a great loss, and tears are often the source of relief. In some ways, it is like loosing your right hand, because life can never be the same. But, like a person who actually looses their hand in an accident, in time, you learn how to adapt and go on living. 

You cannot create a new hand, and you cannot create love between two people no matter how hard you try. Like a seed, you can water and care for it, but that doesn’t mean that a plant will grow. So it is with love.

You cannot completely destroy it either. In fact, many people who loose a hand will often continue to sense feelings through that hand, even though it is physically gone. In the same way, no matter what someone may do, love can still continue.

Does this comparison take away from the beauty of love. I don’t think so, because a hand is a wonderful and beautiful creation, and so is love.

“Love is something that is. You cannot create or destroy love.” 

“Love is something that connects people together.”