{draw:frame} Affection, devotion, passion, desire, respect or loyalty. It does notreally matter which one because they are all forms of love. Some are powerful and demand attention while others are more subtle and just below the surface. In recent years, love has drifted from these subtle levels to the more noticeable ones, namely passion. In my opinion, our society downplays the real necessity for genuine affection. By this I mean that we, as a society, spend so much time focusing on only one level of love (passion) that we tend to neglect and not recognize the need for closeness and trust (friendship). Love is an all-encompassing emotion that can be powerful and demanding, but also rewarding and pleasurable. What is the one emotion that has everyone mystified? What is the one emotion that has started as many wars as it has ended? What emotion has had more plays, songs, and stories written about it than anything else? Love, that one emotion that makes enemies into friends and friends into enemies. So many legends surround this emotion, from the goddess Athena and Helen of Troy to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. *-(* George Sand *)*- Love is the greatest gift we can ever hope to give or receive. Love is the one thing that can overcome so many of the difficult times that we are faced with in life. Love is so powerful - it can turn frowns into smiles. It can help mend the most broken heart. It can even turn all of the ugliness in the world into the most beautiful portrait we could ever have the pleasure to behold. Love comes in so many different levels, that it doesn't appear to be the same emotion at all, but it is. There is so much to love, that it will be hard to put into this simple essay. It can tear people apart and make us do irrational things to bringing together entire nations. What can this emotion not do? It's hard to tell, but there is a lot it can. This emotion, bring tears to our eyes when something happens to our family members, friends, and pets. When we feel love ripped from us, as in death or being spurned by another, we do things we wouldn't normally do, such as go on violent rampages, or mourn to the extent that our loved ones have to watch us constantly to make sure we don't try anything like suicide. Some can move on, always remembering the lost loved one after a while, but others can not let go. These are the ones that need our love and support the most. The Magic Of Love Love is like magic And it always will be. For love still remains Life's sweet mystery!! Love works in ways That are wondrous and strange And there's nothing in life That love cannot change!! Love can transform The most common place Into beauty and splendor And sweetness and grace. Love is unselfish, Understanding and kind, For it sees with its heart And not with its mind!! Love is the answer That everyone seeks... Love is the language, That every heart speaks. Love can't be bought, It is priceless and free, Love, like pure magic, Is life's sweet mystery!! *-(* Helen Steiner Rice *)*- There are so many levels to love, that I can only express a few of them here. These are the ones we see most in life. Friendship starts this list off. Yes, it doesn't seem like it, but we do feel love towards our friends, this is what helps us get along so well, and why we miss them when we don't see our friends for a long time. It's also why we hold certain friends over others no matter what happens. Sometimes, the bond between friends deepens to the point where a stronger bond of love is made, making them family. A Friend's Love says: " If you ever need anything, I'll be there." -( Jimi Hollemans )- Love for our Family is another level of love, it is for our siblings and other family members. Even though we do things to our family members, and sometimes we don't like some of our family, that bond is still there. It is the family bond level of love that brought about the phrase, (B_lood is thicker than water)._ We will do things for our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and children before we would even consider doing them for anyone else. Many wars have been started because of this family level, brother avenging brother or father, father protecting his wife and children, or even children protecting their parents. This simple family bond can even extend to include our pets, amazingly enough, and that is a good thing. Romantic Love is the third level of love, it is the bond that brings man and woman together. This level is among the strongest of them all. It is this level of love that has brought together kingdoms into nations in the past, and ended many great wars. It brought together families that have argued for years and years, such as in the Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet. Even though the two mentioned killed themselves in the end, it still brought their families together. Love is like a mustard seed; planted by God and watered by men *-(* Muda Saint Michael *)*- Love of a Mother is another level of love, it is the bond between a mother and her children. There is no stronger, nor will there ever be. This bond starts from the very first tiny fluttering of movement and never ends, even after death of the child. A mother protects her children in the name of love, and directs them through life using it as the example to follow. Well, at least it should be. Sometimes it is because of her children, a mother will work at a job she hates, just to make sure that they have everything they could ever want or need. Love of a Patriot is another kind of love, it is present between a person and his country. A patriot loves his country because he was born in it and his forefathers are buried in its land. His love can fight for his country’s glory. Love for our Pets is the sixth kind of love, it is among a person and his pet. We love our pets because they protect us, they cheer us, they sometimes make us happy and they play with us. The phrase, love makes the world go round is very true. Poems, plays, and legends can only briefly touch the true meaning of love. We can only feel what that meaning is, and express it in ways only we can understand towards another. The true question we should be asking is not, what is life, but what is love. *A co*n*fusion* about love It is presumed that sexual attraction, being instinctive, is comparatively constant over the centuries and across cultures. But let's be clear: sexual attraction is only one manifestation of love. One can be sexually aroused and still feel no love, just as a couple can be married and possess no mutual sexual appetite or love. Some people find they can fulfill sexual needs one way, and they love something else, such as a hobby or their work. When sexual desire go ahead and call it sexual need, is very strong, it certainly gets called love, but it is not. To be precise it may be best termed carnal love. Similarly, a glutton loves food, and an addict perversely loves whatever drug or activity he's hooked on. Sexual love is not necessarily anything more than an equivalent of an animal being in heat. On the other hand, if two people share a wholehearted, broad-based love for each other, then their sexual relations may be more an expression of their affection than of their instinctive drive. Love and sex are too much confused. It is frightful how many beastly rapes and molestations take place, which are sexual but devoid of love completely. Love can be found far from sex, as in a mother's love for her child, or a religious order's mystical love of doing glory to God, or of the patriot’s love towards his country and rulers. The soldier's courage to defend his family is a kind of love in action. Childhood friends who go through life together know love, though not sex, as regards each other. Have I made my point obvious? I am sure. Love’s antithesis is hate. Hate is often associated with harm or destruction, evendeath. But again, it is not equal to those. It is strongly held negative emotions, even as love is strongly held positive ones. Love is the greatest feeling, Love is like a play, Love is what I feel for you, Each and every day, Love is like a smile, Love is like a song, Love is a great emotion, That keeps us going strong -( Meghan )- The golden rule, "_Love thy neighbor as thyself_," or "_do unto others as you would have them do unto you_," helps us see that if we want people to enjoy peaceful, content existence, we must work together cooperatively, and not let our passions, of either love or hate, get us out of line. One thing I'm sure of, is the world would be a better place if all of us individuals had someone or something we loved. I feel sorry for people who are neutral about this, indifferent regarding that, and don't know what really turns them on. I almost wish there was a law against having no love in one's life. Well, that kind of thinking is too extreme. Is it possible, without love, to be healthy in a mental sense? To be balanced? Can an individual's self-esteem be proper without love? It is certainly possible for a person to be temporarily devoid of love. For example, pick up a random individual, transport him across the planet, and set him into a strange culture, where he knows no one, he knows not a word of the language. He will be in shock, and will love no one, and probably his only love then would be of longing for his familiar life. Temporarily, his shock and his sadness will be more powerful feelings than any love he feels. Strange Have you ever heard of the phrase, “_love is blind_?” Most people have. This must mean that it is a belief of many. Well, what does it mean when someone says, “love is blind?” If love is blind, one may argue to facilitate the meaning that love is eternal, regardless of one’s faults, their lies, and their affairs; that regardless of any negative outcome that love overlooks it. If love is blind it prevails all evil. However, everyone may not agree that, “love is blind.” Love is not blind - It sees more and not less, but because it sees more it is willing to see less. -( Will Moss )- Love isn't blind; it just only sees what matters. *-(* William Curry - Another common phrase is that, “_love hurts_.” Why is it that love has acquired this unpleasant metaphor? Self-experience could be an answer to this question. Most people, at some time in their lives, have been hurt by someone that they love. Is this because they have done something wrong or is it simply human instinct? Humans are full of error and often decide it is easier to give up on love than struggle through the hard times. Therefore, does love hurt or do people hurt? Many would say it is people who hurt because they fail to pursue this love that they have claimed. What is love? I don't know, but I'll do what I can to express it to my son, my wife, my family and friends, and to every single pet I have or ever will own in the best possible way that I can.