Think about how many times you use the word love. I used the word just last night to show affection towards the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream I lovingly devoured (an unrequited and short relationship). Narcissistically, I even said I loved my own hand because it was fast enough to catch a glass I knocked off the counter. Even better, how many thousands of Tweets were there about loving an artist performing on the Grammys last night? So many, my Twitter stream was literally a river of Tweets.

Now, think about how many times you used the word love in connection with a person you know personally. Not the , “Oh, I love them for doing that”, but an honest to goodness love. A love that is not like an affair with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, but one that is unconditional and mutual. It speaks volumes that this type of love can be shown in not just the word itself, but through gesture and actions.

Admittedly, I am a guy that doesn’t tend to write or talk about such things often. Someone special to me has recently taught me so much about love that it would be impossible to thank her enough and why on this Valentine’s Day I looked at the true meaning of love. By definition (20 plus variations in most dictionaries), love includes a “strong liking” to “passionate affection for another person”, and everything in between.

Love covers a lot of ground, so much ground, I think it stretches to the horizon making it hard to recognize. The intent here  is not to prove that there is “cookie dough” love and “true” love. If I had the energy and was prepared to get flamed terribly, I might tackle the concept that the more “cookie dough” love gets passed around like it’s a ball in a game, it trivializes “true” love. Nope, I am not going to do that, but hopefully the next time you use the word love, you’ll think about it’s intent. And maybe, just maybe, people will become even more important and significant than that cookie dough ice cream.

Right, now time to go run 10 miles and kill a buffalo with my hands.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Classic Buzz.

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