What is Love?

Baby don’t hurt me…don’t hurt me…no more…

What is love?

A question we all intrinsically ask at one point or another, so much so that it also spawned the iconic hit, What is Love by artist Haddaway back in 1993. However its appearance in the 1998 movie, Night at the Roxbury, further cemented the song’s influence and became reminiscent of the 1990s. When asked about the meaning behind the song, Haddaway left the song open for interpretation.

So…what is love???

I could divulge you in a conversation about the Greek definitions of love versus other interpretations of what love is. I could use the Bible as to gain an understanding of the meaning of love, and even that, would lead us to find many different variations of love. Love can be acts of mercy and love can be forgiving. There is familial love and there is romantic love. Being on the receiving end of love sure feels great, but then ask yourself this:

Are you aware of the love you are receiving?

Sometimes I forget that people love me too, and people have different ways of showing love. Are you receiving the type of love you want to receive? Expectations can be deceiving, but even little acts of kindness is an expression of love. Just as important,

Are you giving love?

What forms of love are you giving and putting out to the world? Do you give love without expecting love returned? Do you check up on your friends? Have you forgotten that you need to give love to keep your relationships healthy? Is your family receiving love? Even if some answers are less favorable than others, we can always work on mending those relationships. Effort is also love. Introspectively,

Do you practice self-love?

Hygiene, exercise, meditation, a beach trip — Anything that keeps you feeling well and connected to yourself. How is your state of being? Are you taking care of your own mental health? Personally, I’m a fan of thirty minute naps.

So, what is love?

I challenge you to put your definitions of love in music form, much like Haddeway did. Make a playlist with your definitions and encounters of love. I’ll submit a playlist of my own to begin a musical dialogue in the coming week but I’m very much interested to see what kind of songs we use to define love in musical form. So, I ask you again:

What is love?