Faith, Hope and Love

I just had an epiphany regarding the nature of faith.  I have to admit that I associated the idea of faith strictly with faith in god and, not being a religious person, never gave it much thought.  But, I think I now realize that faith doesn't have to be in god or a higher power or in anything specific.

Faith is simply believing.  Not just believing, but knowing.  Knowing in your heart that what you hope for will come to be.

My previous posts have been about hope.  Hope is something to look forward to, hope makes life worth living.  I think that faith is belief in hope; faith gives hope a chance.  I've said that hope is where the heart is. Then I think maybe faith is where the soul is.  If hope can make a heart soar, faith gives wings to the soul itself.

And love, well love...  "Now Faith, Hope and Love remain, these three things, and the greatest of these is love."

Several years ago I was asked by a therapist to write a short essay on what love meant to me.  It was a tough assignment.  I thought I would share.

What is Love?

How do you describe love?  Romantic love.  Poets, songwriters, authors and philosophers have tried for years to put words to the feeling of love. 

 “Love is a many splendored thing.” 

“Love lifts us up where we belong.”

“All you need is love.” 

“Love makes the world go ‘round.” 

“How do I love thee, let me count the ways.”

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

“The greatest thing in this world is to love and to be loved in return.”

I worried over this little project for days before I even started trying to write anything.  I began with the question “What is love?”  I puzzled over this, and every time I thought I had an answer, it was simply how love made me feel, or how it made me behave.  This soon made me realize that I don’t know how to define love itself; I can only describe what it means to me.  And, perhaps in doing so, it will help me come to a better understanding of the thing itself.

Loving someone means that I put their happiness above my own.  I realize that recent events may seem to imply the opposite.  But, hurting someone you love as a result of your own selfish or foolish actions, or even as a result of decisions they wish you hadn’t made, is not the same as intentionally causing them pain.  But, the heart is a precious thing, and loving someone, giving them your heart, requires so much trust.  If someone trusts you with theirs, and you accept it, you take the responsibility to protect it, to cherish it.

Loving someone means that I want the best for them.  The best of health, happiness, success…

Truly loving someone means loving them for who they are, accepting and loving everything about them, and not wanting to change them, not wishing they were different somehow.

Loving someone makes me want to be a better person.  Makes me want to be a person they would be proud to love, proud to be with. 

Of course, on the selfish side, I want to love and be loved by someone who makes me feel good about myself; someone who gives me positive energy, someone who shows me love and affection.  Someone who accepts and loves me for who and what I am and doesn’t want to change me or wish I was something I’m not.  I want to be cherished.

“Shouldn’t I have this, shouldn’t I have this?  Shouldn’t I have all of this, and passionate kisses… passionate kisses from you?”

Loving someone is so much more than physical, but physical attraction is important.  Beauty seen through the eyes of love creates a physical attraction that goes so far beyond simple lust. 

Loving someone is a physical chemistry, like electricity…their touch is like feeling that spark you feel when you shuffle your feet across the carpet in winter and then touch something metal.  Meeting their eyes across a room causes my heart to skip a beat.  The thought of their touch makes me shiver, makes my private parts flutter.

So, what is love to me?  Love is what keeps me from just being another lonely person living a solitary life.  Love connects me.  Love completes me.

I didn't write this next part, but I just saw it and thought it was so perfect I had to steal it.