Love?

So I have quite a few half started blogs that I probably should finish and post... They've been sitting in my drafts for a while now and most of them aren't very relevant anymore. :(

Oh well. I'm going to finish and post them anyway. :D
On to the first belated blog...

What is love?

I find the entire topic of love quite interesting because the definition of love is so ambiguous. Not only does every individual have their own opinion of what it is, there are also so many different types of love. Erotic love, parental love, child love, pet love, friend love, sibling love, a love for pastimes, a love of feelings, love for the past, etc… And each form of love is different for each person. One person may feel a strong connection with their mom or dad, and another may not get along with either their mom or dad, but both people can still love their parents.

Like Plato’s Symposium, each individual has their own opinion of what love is. The entire world could sit down together after dinner and discuss what they think love is and we’d get a very large variety of answers (although, that would take a very long time to sit around, get drunk, and listen to 7 billion people). And like in Carson McCuller’s “A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.”, the idea of love should start from the bottom and move up the ladder, so to speak. Eventually, the meaning of love and caring will sink in and you will graduate to the top of the ladder, but, until then, love is a slow process.

Don’t we all start out when we’re kids with a pet rock or some toy that we carry around everywhere with us? And then we eventually move on from that toy to another one? And on and on until we’re teenagers and in love with fictional characters or movie stars? And then eventually, we’re in high school and find ourselves drooling over the cute guy (or girl) in the front row?

Sometimes love can get confused with infatuation or obsession, but aren’t those in themselves types of love? They’re viewed in public society as unhealthy forms of love, but don’t they fall under the same category that “healthy” love does?

In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, the guy in the jalopy, Arnold Friend, kind of obsesses over the main character, Connie, and tries to take her--Hades and Persephone style. Is it a form of love, though? Or is just a creepy stalking?

Another reference to what I think is a semi-unhealthy obsession in fiction is the--dun dun dun--Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. Does anybody else think that Bella Swan’s infatuation with Edward Cullen is anything more than serious obsession? And what about Edward Cullen’s desire for Bella? If I didn’t love the books so much, I’d think it was ridiculous. But then again, isn’t obsession and desire a part of love? Meyer’s characters seem to make it work. (Though, the series isn't that thought provoking, either.) :)