The Character of Love

The character of love is derived from a wide variety of things and has a wide variety of aspects. Butterflies in the stomach, n-n-nerves, becoming tongue-tied, feeling so0o klutzy when you ordinarily feel coordinated, sweaty palms and dry mouth, the warm fuzzies.. the list is long. We've all had some - maybe all - of these symptoms at one time or another. If you haven't, keep looking - you haven't run out of time yet. There is no set age for any of this to happen, and it isn't "only" for physically young people. Sixty is the new forty, after all, so what does that do for the other decades, hmm?

What constitutes real love, anyway? What happens to and between two people when they hit the jackpot and find true love?

Not everyone is built for great emotional highs and lows, but most people feel a definite rise in their feelings. The phrase "walking on air" is common, and people in love often begin dancing to the music in their hearts even though there is no music anyone in the vicinity can hear.

The Irish say that "love that isn't madness isn't love". But then, the Irish are "the men that God made mad, for all their wars are happy, and all their songs are sad" (G. K. Chesterton; The Ballad of the White Horse). Still, the Celts, the Picts, and the Irish all have contributed great things to the world of love and romance.. Remember Gene Kelly, "just singin' and dancin' in the rain"?

The Italians say that amore (ah-MOR-ay) - love - is a gift from the gods to men and women, of "a delightful insanity".

Johnson Last Horse was my sister Linda's father, and he taught me, "Love is not a barter thing. It is not a case of 'I'll love you if you'll love me'. Love is a gift to the lover and the loved." I think that is probably the most profound piece of truth anyone has ever taught me, because it covers every kind of love, not just romantic love. Yawahshte miye / You bless me. And everyone you or I have passed it on to. Wopila tanka, Johnson. Profound thanks, Johnson.

One of the chief characteristics of real love, regardless of kind, is that it empowers everyone involved. It makes them stronger inside. It makes them kinder. Love heals. Real love 'shouldn't' hurt, but just as in the legend of the Sleeping Beauty, sometimes you both have to labor mightily to get past the thorns to get to the 'happily ever after' part. Love is never greedy or pushy or arrogant. Love is kind, and real love is eternal, because "love is not a barter thing" and our spirits are eternal.

These denote the character of love.