Maybe it was due to the bad weather last week or the fact that we just started running our show... or maybe it's just another part of the "quarter-life-crisis". Whatever it may be, I've been feeling emo lately and I can't stop thinking about love...
This pesky-fucking-word has been giving me trouble lately. I can't quite define it but I can't get it off my mind either! This problem is keeping me up at night and taking up my precious dream-space so I've embarked on a mini quest to find out more about the word as well as the concept of love.
Part I: The Problem with Love
How can one word be used in so many ways? Why aren't there more words to describe all the different types of love? The only thing I can think of is that it would be impossible for this to happen because as far as I can tell every time "love" is spoken it's completely new! At least for me, I can't love anything or anyone the exact same way, so I guess I would have to make up a new word each time I wanted to say it. Needless to say, this could end up confusing a lot of people...
"I looe you mom"
"I lev that book so much!"
"God, I lof nachos" Seriously, I couldn't live without them.
"I luuuux the way I feel after good sex"
And yes, I do realize that there are other words in other languages, but they all mean the same thing right? How can we even begin to define this word? I want answers! So I started asking people, and of course, no one can pin it down.
Ia: Love, the word
Because I'm an actor I have a love/hate relationship with words. In theatre (and of course in life) words can be beautiful, powerful tools for communication. When used well words can do things. They can convey as well as evoke feelings, they can paint pictures in the imagination, they can hurt and they can heal. But sometimes words just mess everything up! Sometimes the best communication happens without words and sometimes words are abused.
When it comes to the word love I guess it all boils down to intention and understanding. In acting we try to communicate something to the audience using words, tone, inflection, context, movement and intention. These areas of focus can help make something more clear; but ultimately everyone will interpret the work in their own unique way. People communicating with each other in life can only get so far using these same devices, often unconsciously. How can you ever know if you're truly connecting though? It seems to me that all you can really know is your own intention and the clearer that is the better you can hope to communicate it.
Part II: That Thing
The Beatles said "All you need is love"
Stevie Nicks asked "Mirror in the sky what is love?"
Joni Mitchell has "looked at love from both sides now..."
And the Asteroid in our show has a few things to say about it too!
But really!!! What is it???
Well, being the impatient and impulsive girl I am I thought I could figure it out if I put my mind to it, asked around, did the research, talked about it in therapy. But apparently it doesn't work that way. And it's not that I've never said "I love you" or had it said to me...But each time is different and as these loves become a part of my past they start to feel like dreams I can't quite recall. I know I was there and I remember the feeling, sort of, but I can't get back. I can't identify with it in the same way so I guess I have to let it go and make space for something new.
Sometimes it feels like a silly thing to chase but at some point I hope I can rediscover love and find out once more what all the fuss is about. For now all I can say is:
Love schmove.
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5 comments:
You already know my thoughts on the matter BUT...
I still maintain that Love Schmove is no way to go because whether or not we understand it, it is kind of the only thing that motivates us. And sure, it's hard to accept it when you can't define it (and this is a funny thing for an atheist to say), but that doesn't mean we can just dismiss it!
Yeah!
Thank you (as always) for your words. I've already heard some other really interesting feedback just today!
Oh man, Shakti, I have so much response for this. Too much for here. But I will say, I completely understand the past love feeling of dreaminess, of knowing that it was there, remembering that you felt that way, but for the life of you not actually being able to remember the feeling. And I guess that I chalk that up to moving forward with life and trying to live in there here and now. I mean, I have that experience with many old relationships and emotions, not just ones based on love or the feeling of love. Just slowly forgetting the feelings of past experiences.
All of my other theories are too convoluted for this. Let's discuss at girl's night.
I'm with you on the Love Schmove.
And it is certainly NOT what motivates me, Mr. or Ms. Elfro! In fact, I see "Love" as more of a de-motivator. Like a chocolate cake or a chocolate drug addiction. It feels good when you're on it, but when the "Love" fades what do you have left to show for it?
I ended a relationship with a girl recently who "Loves" me and now "Hates" me because I don't "Love" her back. I'm trying to be sensitive because she still thinks "Love" is this magically power that can move mountains, but do you know what it really is? It's a chemical! It's a chemical that has been isolated and studied by scientists.
What we all thought was love is just a hormone called "Oxytocin". It's in rats and it's in you! We release this "Love Potion" when we have an orgasm. From an evolutionary stand point it makes sense because animals that "Love" each other have a better chance of working together to keep their Offspring alive.
So the next time someone says "I love you", just respond by saying, "I oxytocin you too, baby!"
Shak-tease! I couldn't help but read your blogs here or whatever they are. All I can say is for some people, love's road has been bumpy and rocky and has left them a little battered and cynical (see: me!) Anyway that doesn't mean one should lose hope in it altogether. I believe that it finds you instead of vice versa. Searching for love usually ends up in disaster and never lives up to expectations. Like flowing water it takes its course and finds its way around any obstacles. Ideally, I think that love should be the purest of emotions, untainted by jealousy, greed and posession. It simply is. The problem is to take that essence and apply it to this modern world. I, for one, find it rather difficult. Good luck.
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