Lately, I've been, as many others have before me, trying to decide what love is. Despite the many resources that I have found, I am still unable to find a solid, unmistakable definition for the term. Here, on Dictionary.com, a definition is provided with as many technical deffinitions as one can muster using all of the complexities of a language which has yet to satisfactorily communicate emotions:

Love: (lŭv) n. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness. A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance. Sexual passion. Sexual intercourse. A love affair. An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object. A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment. An expression of one's affection: Send him my love. A strong predilection or enthusiasm: a love of language. The object of such an enthusiasm: The outdoors is her greatest love. Love Mythology. Eros or Cupid. often Love Christianity. Charity. Sports. A zero score in tennis.

The problem with all of these words is that they are just that; words. Words are dead. They truly cannot communicate the abstract. For instance, if I was to say to you "I am in love," the sounds would travel from my voice to your ear. From there they would convert to electrical signals in your brain, triggering your experiences of love or lack of love, and you say "I understand." But how do I know you understand? Maybe your feelings of love, your ideas of what love is, are completely different than what I mean by love. Its not like you can show me an example of what love is. Its not something you can hold out and say "This is what love is" like you could if we were to define what an apple or a pencil is. No, since love is not an apple, all you can do is say you understand and all I can do is trust that you do. No test will ever suffice to prove the existence or non-existence of love. I believe this is why we have such difficult problems finding love in our lives. No one really knows what it is. And, more importantly, since no one can show you what it is, you can never know if you have ever felt it. You just have to trust yourself that you understand it. Even after you've figured out that you are in love, you will never really be able to tell if someone loves you back or not. I think it was said best by Diane Ackerman: "Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is." Diane points out the logical problem with love. How can you determine the value of love without even being able to determine what it is. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? One thing is for certain, though. Love requires something to work upon. An object of affection is always included in the contexts of which it is mentioned. Most would say that love is a good thing. However, most would also agree that it is not good to love the wrong things. For instance, it is often said that the love of money or greed is a bad thing. And then there's the egotistical problem. Everyone seems to agree that we have to love ourselves, but yet at the same time, we call someone an egotist who loves himself too much. What is too much? The answer to this question lies in another: how can love be measured? The truth to that is that it cannot. It is small and it is big, it is wide and it is short. It seems that it is always adjusting its depths. To find an accurate measure of love is to define it. Here is a story of what can do. Its up to you to determine if its false or if its true: It has been said that love is limitless, that it grows, that it comes, and that it goes. We can find it, we can lose it, we can run from it, and we can choose it. We can take it, we can give it, we can die for it, or we can live it. It can be left, it can be kindled, it can be kept, and it can be dwindled. Its something we can fall into, but can't climb out. Its something we can quit, but can't seem to time out. Love is chain that can be constricting, a drug that can be addicting. Its concept that evolves, and if you believe in karma, it revolves. It can be given, but cannot be lent. And any whore will tell you that its not up for rent. It is a slander that can't decide what it taunts, but when it is dead, it is sure that it always haunts. In short, love is a chance given to you by fate, an experiment in the early stages of hate. So here I am In the grave of love. Starved for its affection, Pushed without a shove.