Is LOVE a Four Letter Word?

What happened to human decency and conscience? In this ugly world where people are dying for our country and losing their jobs why can't people do the simplest of things to generate positive energy? Why can't people take other's thoughts or feelings into consideration? Is it too hard to not want the cake and eat it too?

We are taught very young that we shouldn't use 4 letter words like shit, damn, fuck, dick, etc. What about the word love? Is LOVE a four letter word? Some of us grow up in a household that expresses love daily and hear it from parents daily. Some of us read about it in a book. Fantasizing about prince charming or having a family like Beaver Cleaver's. Is love a bad word? It has 4 letters just like the "bad" words. Technically if we count the number of letters yes it is but do we see it as a "4 letter word"?

Here are some dictionary definitions of love.
1 a:(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
(2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers
(3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests b: an assurance of love
2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
3 a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration b (1): a beloved person : darling —often used as a term of endearment
(2)British —used as an informal term of address
4 a: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as
(1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind
(2): brotherly concern for others

What does this mean? Love can be expressed in many different ways. From a the joy of a hobby to the attention of a child to the strong connection or passion with an individual. There is way or one degree of love for everything. One thing that struck me was the part about concern for humankind and unselfish loyalty for another person. So if you love someone do you need to clarify what level you are meaning? Do you get the great love affair without the loyalty and concern? Do you get the concern without loyalty? This a very complicated word.

Conversely there is an opposite to love - hate, dislike, disdain, etc. Do you get one without the other side of it? Is there not a balance that seems to be maintained in the universe whether we agree or not. It seems that the people we love and trust the most are the ones that have the ability to hurt us in the worst ways. The more you love, adore and trust the easier it is to feel pain. This little word love gives us the deepest pleasures and can open us up to the greatest losses and feelings of despair. It hardly seems fair but does it balance out the ways of the universe? In order to love do we need to know how to hate? Maybe to be loved we need to remember that we will also feel the opposite too?

It is our experiences in life that gives us the different meanings and strength for the word love. Some of us will find ultimate happiness and joy with the word. Some of us will feel content and warm inside with the word. While some of us might look at it with same caution we do when we approach a cliff. Stepping carefully in order to avoid sliding down the slope. Since you can't see what is on the other side it makes it very precarious. Will you find rocks, grass, or water. Will there be a railing or rope to assist should yous slip? This can very scary. This gives us the fear of the word and the feelings either because of the unknown or the fear of the opposite.

Love reaches us in so many different ways. For instance I love my family, my friends, my pets, my photos, etc. But who do I trust my love with? Will I give love without receiving the same in return? Yes, sometimes I will. Some things are safer than others like the love of a child or a pet. It is what we call unconditional or safe. With them you find the lush green grassy slope that is easy to traverse. With some family and friends it can be bumpy even rocky. This is where pain can come in.

The more green grass experiences we have the easier it is to love. The more bumpy and rocky our experiences the harder it is. So what should we do? Do we stay away from this four letter word? Is protecting the heart and soul more important than looking over the edge?

You never know what you are going to find. Sometimes it will be peaceful, sometimes it will be wonderful and then there will be the hard times. The times that you feel like you have tumbled over the cliff and down a rocky slope with shards of glass stabbing your entire being. It hurts. The wounds are wide open and fresh and feeling like they will never heal. You have pour alcohol on it the wounds to heal them and protect them. So you relive a lot of memories. You hear things you don't want to hear but in the end the wounds will heal. Even scars heal and fade after time.

Now as we all stand here on the edge wondering what is on the otherside - what are we thinking? Are we avoiding looking over? Is someone looking for a different path? I know we have all been there and it is not easy. But to never take the steps to see what is there won't keep a person safe. Never to let yourself look over the edge won't keep us safe. Also, never letting yourself look back and remember won't keep us safe either. What will you choose to do when you look over the edge?