LOVE

What you are about to read is my own particular view and experience of life. It is neither a scientific, anthropological or psychological thesis. It might sound silly, maybe shocking. Either way, this discussion does not intent to convince anyone to agree with it. The only outcome hoped for from the audience reading is, reflection and maybe analysis or constructive criticism of the content. You may or may not identify yourself with the context and may or may not, gather some insights from it. Any response is a positive response, if only laughter.

LOVE

Love, Amor, Liefde, Dashuria, ፍቅር, حب, Սեր, ভালপোৱা, Munaña, Sevgi, Kanu, Maitasuna, Каханне, ভালবাসা, प्यार, Ljubav, любов, Gugma, Chikondi, 爱, Amore, Milovat, Elsker, ލޯބި, Amo, Armastus, Lɔ̃, Pag-ibig, Rakkaus, Aimer, სიყვარული, Liebe, Αγάπη, Mborayhu, Lanmou, Soyayya, Aloha, אהבה, प्यार, Szerelem, Ást, Cinta, Grá, Tresna, 사랑, Evîn, Amare, Mīlestība, Meilė, Okwagala, Léift, Љубов, Imħabba, Aroha, Хайртай, Kjærlighet, عشق, Miłość, Любовь, Amora, Amop, อามอร์, aşk, tình yêu, אַמאָר…

Love is a word that exists in every language; a concept that has been represented in graphics across the ages through plural shapes; an emotion that is expressed in many ways and felt with varying intensity; an ideology presented in numerous forms; a way of living; a commandment preached by religions. Hence, the existence of love is perceived through numerous layers and spectra. Moreover, the word "love" has been widely used in various contexts to describe emotions, feelings, intentions, be they individual, mutual or collective. Throughout history, many people have lived and died for love, given birth and killed for love, trusted and disbelieved for love, lied and denied for love, worked and stolen for love, succeeded and failed for love, craved and given up for love, built and destroyed for love.

Everyone has their own way to feel and express love. Even animals, have their own ways to express love to members of their own species or otherwise. In some cultures, it is believed that nature also expresses love by providing all that we need to exist. Love exists within everyone and everything and is everywhere. We just need to open our hearts to experience it. Love is not exclusive to an individual, but to every single one of us. It is part of human nature. Love is neither selfish nor limited but a blessing to be shared between friends, family or strangers.

We must first find love within ourselves, then we can express it in friendship and companionship (with and without intimacy) and in all our deeds and words. Love has no rules or and there is no recipe.  We all have the right to love and be loved, but to amplify that we have duties: respect, tolerance, compassion, sympathy, acceptance, kindness, patience, attentiveness, gratitude, and so on. Once it has emerged, love will evolve and grow and will harmonise both how we feel about ourselves and interact with others. There is always a place for love, as it is key in the foundation of life.

Although the word "love" is quite simple, its meaning can be complex. This perceived meaning can vary between different ideologies, beliefs, social and cultural backgrounds. Like any other animal, humans can be kind and curious, but also afraid of the unknown; afraid of how their free will may affect their endeavours. For some people, love and the freedom that comes with it may evoke fear, for others it is just a given. Love is the key to solving all problems society has gone through since the birth of time.

Through conquests and failures, wars and battles, discoveries and achievements, history has shown what the human race has been faced with. To claim that and or all of this has all been done in the name of love is nonsense. Society has been "evolving" through repetitive cycles that are only questioned by the few who are not afraid to think. A persistent denial, undervaluing and underestimation of love's real power has placed love out of reach for many people. Love however remains the most important thing that the human race can aspire to.

The power of love is such that social and political forces adjust their principles and values, fearing existential imbalance. Is their perception of imbalance perhaps what many see as "equality"? Many of these influential forces have diminished the importance of love to the point that it has just become a contextually twisted and thus meaningless word. The human race seems to have forgotten exactly what love means, or indeed if it has any meaning or value at all.  Love is of course paramount for the evolution and development of the human race.

Every one of us is unique. We look different and we behave, think and comprehend differently. And yet, most of us are living in societies perceived as civilised. That said, the majority of people seem to feel more comfortable amongst others who appear to think and behave alike and challenge those who dare to be individuals. Individuals in their own right may feel free to live by their own choices but will often feel limited by the impositions and expectations imposed on them. What an ironic form of self-entrapment!

Society has always faced controversy when it comes to love. One example is the way in which certain people preach it to and perceive it in others. Pagan cultures embrace love as simply being for everyone, in everything and everywhere. Most religions preach love with limitations, even though they say their God or Gods offer “unconditional” love. Then, there is the unattainable form of love promoted by media, promoting delusional ways of living. For many, love can be whatever generates an emotional response in a particular moment, place or situation. In reality, this moment may not be one of truth but one loaded with social pressures that impacts on people who cannot accept their limitations. They choose to live by comparison rather than in their own right.

The concept of love is, often presented to us as something simple so, why can it sometimes be so hard to love? We are all loved and love in different ways. Many are starved of love in their developmental years and many others are exposed to and experienced love throughout their lives. Some of us have learnt to share love, others have not. Some of us have searched for and pursued love, others have not. Some of us believe in and cherish love, others not. So what is love, exactly? Love is the essence of life. It is in everything, is everywhere and in every one of us. Love is manifested in our respect for ourselves and others and our tolerance for our differences. Love guarantees our freedom to live our lives according to who we are.

We all have our own words, ideas, behaviours, ways of living, physical features, personal styles, beliefs, preferences, limitations, differences, skills, habits, tastes, and so on. These are the things that make us unique. All too often we allow our prejudices and preconceptions to constrain our own and collective evolutionary processes. The human race tends to isolate and reject individual experiences, preferring to follow and experience things that are "set in stone". Most people choose to follow rather than lead.

How can this be? Humans can distinguish around one million different shades of colours. Why does it matter so much to so many whether you or others are black, white, yellow or even blue? Earth has seven geographical continents but these all became separated from one original continent: Pangea. So, why does your or somebody else’s ethnicity, genetics or geographical location matter so much? A typical human being has 2,100 to 2,500 structural variations, and processes approximately 60,000 thoughts daily. The law of attraction suggests that we can manifest our desires and goals by focusing our energy and thoughts on positive outcomes rather than creating obstacles by misinterpreting our differences. Why would we allow anyone else to suppress the power of our imagination and influence whom or what we should be attracted to if we are true to ourselves and embrace love? Without love, we are ordinary; with it, we are extraordinary!

Love may not yield quantifiable profit or provide a great news headline, but it can transform a simple gesture into something extraordinary. Love will transform our own selves. Many people do not pause to experience or embrace the many ways love is expressing itself all around us. Love is present when you sacrifice your comfort for someone who may need comfort more than you. Love is sharing food with someone who really needs it even if you are left feeling a little hungry yourself. Love is reaching out your hand to support someone in need, smiling at a stranger, showing tolerance for someone whose believes you do not necessarily agree with. Love is trying to understand the other person's point of view and perhaps learning an important lesson yourself. Love is sharing your life lessons with others and caring as much for others as you do for yourself.

If love dominated the news headlines, we would see that there is more love in this world than we could ever have imagined. The power of love could empower us to end wars and social injustice. We could elect governments that recruit saviours instead of soldiers. We could end starvation and homelessness, and just focus on technologies and research that actually save lives. We could look after our natural environment in order to maintain harmony in our lives. We could focus on consuming essentials that promote collective joy. Our differences could be appreciated and harnessed for the improvement of all, rather than widening divisions. Barter could even become a new currency, sharing essentials in return for services, help for kindness, kindness for recognition, appreciation for respect.

Imagine love taking its place at the head of life's table. Imagine no longer judging or feeling judged but showing respect and feeling respected with our dignity intact. This is real freedom; to be whoever you want to be and to be with anyone you wish to be with; to follow your heart's desires and to just "be". Knowledge may be power but love is a stronger force. Many people appear to be fearful of feeling or expressing love. It would mean having to face their ignorance and the limitations that have defined who they are. It would mean recognising the obstacles put in place by society´s prejudices and overcoming them.  Rather than facing their own demons, many choose to demonise others when they could in fact be learning from them. Appreciating other people's happiness rather than attempting to destroy it is the path to finding your own happiness and inner peace.

Loving and feeling loved will always come more easily to some people than to others. Exercising love means firstly to love yourself, then to love others unconditionally. It means to respect the differences and tolerate then dissolve perceived inequalities. Only if we can achieve this, can there be any hope for the human race and our continuing evolution.

Love exists within each and every one of us, is in everything and is everywhere. Love is not exclusive but is part of human nature and its foundations. Love is neither selfish nor limited and always has its place. Love holds the key to alleviating all the suffering that the human race has experienced since the beginning of time. If you can show your love each and every day, then your life will have been a life well lived.

Sow and nurture your love and in so doing, you will harvest love.

Leandro Bernardes, 2024.