Razor 1

Jaylen Razor

Professor Dunham

English 1201

25 March 2022

What is the true definition of Love?

Love is a broad term that many try to describe but can’t really put their finger on it. It is a

factor in mostly any and everything in our human lives. Honestly our view on love is heavily

influenced by our experiences and social and mental engagement. My main focus is to help

educate individuals interested in finding their true meaning of love while also increasing my

knowledge on the highly controversial subject. Some people feel as if love is achieved through

their sexual interations with other individuals. Other people believe that love is sparked through

their physical attraction, hence love at first sight. Love can be defined as many different actions,

emotions and philosophies combined together and we as individuals have the mental capacity to

form our own way if defining it. Love is a complex word because it has many different forms. It

shows up in many different ways and is perceived differently by every single individual on earth.

The question I want you to walk away with is, Can you truly define love? Whether you have an

answer or not is.

There are many different ways to define love. Many say love is a deep emotion that is

demonstrated by actions towards one another. Others say love is a feeling of warmth when

seeing, thinking or feeling someone else. The bible states in the first book that God is Love. The

top two definitions of love online are one, having an intense feeling of deep affection and two,

liking or enjoying something very much. In my personal opinion love is for sure a feeling and is
 Razor 2

most definitely actions, However I also believe that our thoughts of love are formed from the

perspective of our experiences, our tradition and our environment. I think it is safe to say that

love is greater than any lone assumption or expectation we have of or about it. Gathering all the

details is going to prove this point further.

Is love at first sight a real thing ? Some people believe that physical attraction signifies

love. We all have seen someone that we thought was super attractive and then boom we think

we’re going to be married for 50 years and live happily ever after. Wrong! Love cannot be

physical attraction by its lonesome. Love is proven by how hard you go for that person when

they aren’t ;looking the best or if they are not necessarily appealing to you in a particular

moment. I don’t believe in love at first sight because you know nothing about that person.

Nothing about their core values or their view on a life that includes you. I believe that the

characteristics and mannerisms of another individual matters concerning the term love.

What is love? An article written by Kendra Cherry presented this question. In the article

they broke love down piece by piece and presented all the emotions relative to it. This analysis

speaks about biology and culture and how they influence our perspective on love. Our personal

experiences of course and the way we express our love to one another definitely directly affect

our personal perception. In this article they list five types of love. Friendship is liking someone

and having some type of intimacy even if minimal. Infatuation involves intense feelings of

attraction without having a commitment with a chance to move forward. Passionate love

involves intense feelings of attraction and longing while a need to be physically around each

other often. Compassionate love is represented by trust, affection, intimacy and commitment.

Lastly Unrequited love is when a certain individual has feelings for someone and that person

does not feel that way in return. Being able to discern what type of love you are performing
 Razor 3

and/or are receiving is essential and gaining common ground in your relationships. Love is a

beautiful gift in any way it is given or received but it can be frustrating when we can’t tell what

type of love has found its way into our interaction with a person of interest. This article also

offers analysis on loves’ impact and how we practice it. Most of them being universal we can

make the connections as to the actions and reactions dealing with a certain type of love. Love's

impact can be scary and sometimes confusing but that is the beauty of it. Love is truly

unpredictable.

My second article is authored by Melissa De Witte from Stanford University. This article

dives into the history of love. Titled the same as the previous article it presents the evolution of

love and what it has meant to us in the many generations of human life. The range is unlimited

with taking information from present day scholars, scientists, greek philosophy and arabic

poetry. This article provides the roots of love and where certain traditions may come from. Who

knew love could be explained by science. Ever heard of the term love is blind? The research

behind this goes into depth as to why we feel how we feel about someone even when we aren’t

with them or interacting with them. It is noted that love heightens other feelings and can even

make certain people more sociable. Love is love is love is love but it is performed and received

differently in the different era’s we’ve had. Whereas traditionally the way we express ourselves

is almost identical, the form in which it comes out in our different time periods is a true

testament to just how broad the subject is. The expression of love has evolved as our economy

and social nature has changed. Technological advancements, industrial improvements and

hygienic preferences have driven us to more complex ways of showing up in these love

situations.
 Razor 4

Article number 3 makes a statement as the headline. That statement is, “We are defining

Love the wrong way”. The author of this article is a Rabbi known as David Wolpe. Wolpe has

been recognized as one of the top 50 most influential jews in the world. In this article he

highlights the importance of recognizing that love is not just a deep feeling. Love is an enacted

emotion and is just as much action as it is feeling. Love shows up and doesn’t just speak. To love

is to portray and receive love. While you can love something that may not love you back, strong

love is relational and interacting. We as humans always aspire to fall in love and have these great

love stories/interactions only for reality to be disappointing. Most of us fail to realize the many

things we have to do to love the right way. There’s not just one true right way. We have to

discover how to love each person in our different relationships the right way which may sound

hard. We’re going to fail but the plus of being a human is the many different opportunities we are

given to attain that goal.

How do you define love? This question is simply direct. Susan Pease Gadoua is the

author of this article. In this article she talks about the 5 love languages. These include: Words of

Affirmation, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, Gifts and Quality Time. These are highlighted in

the book 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman which she refers to in the article. These are the

most common areas where people receive and give love. Words of affirmation are words that

highlight your appreciation, love and respect for another human being. Physical touch is the

physical interaction you have with that special someone that heightens the chemistry you have.

Acts of Service are just ways to show your appreciation towards your loved one. Gifts can fall

under the pror but is a way of valuing someone by offering them things purchased or passed

along out of admiration. Finally quality time is just those moments where you’re just happy to be

with that individual and you can enjoy each other's presence. These five actions are essential acts
 Razor 5

that we need to perform for love to be fulfilling in our life and for us to get the most we can out

of any given love circumstance. Applying this to your love life is only stepping a foot into the

door into what can come out of your love life. This article again is very insightful as it articulates

certain aspects of love in which you may not even have wrapped your head around.

Do you believe that love is accessed through your sexual interaction with another

individual. I believe so many people are so adamant on satisfying themself with their physical

pleasures that they confuse the action with how they give or receive love. Now sex is considered

a love language. It provides that connection between two people who are looking to deepen their

connection and is the truest sign of intimacy. Soul ties are a big conversation when it comes to

how the church views sex. Like stated before sex is the truest sign of intimacy and many believe

it should not be partaken in until one is married. Soul Ties come when someone feels connected

to another person whether it is emotionally or spiritually. I believe that some people confuse soul

ties with love. Sex is a marvelous thing and is valued by indiviuals more than almost anything

else they care about. People give a piece of themselves away and believe that they are

experiencing love but may just be experiencing a feeling of connection to someone that they had

intercourse with. All in all I feel like sex is a perk when it comes to your love life with someone

else. However I don nto believe sex is a form of love.

A source I want to include that I am going to quote is the Bible. I am a follower of Christ

and am spiritually inclined to level up in my relationship with God. 1 John 4:16 says, “God is

love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. God is love, and he who abides

in love abides in God, and God in him. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God,

and God in him.” This scripture states that anyone who interacts, dwells or even lives in love is

living and God and God living in them. God is love so our interaction with love is our interaction
 Razor 6

with God in my opinion. The bible also provides what love looks like. “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 in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love

never fails.” This scripture is 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. There are many different scriptures in the

bible concerning God’s love and how it shows up. Our willingness to believe or even press into

the word is our own choice. We can get so caught up in what the world perceives love as that we

forget that we have a choice to explore love and understand it in a way we may not have been

introduced to before.

My last source is an interview with my mom. She is a 37 year old African American

female with 3 kids and a degree in leadership. She is a minister in her church and is on pace to

start a life coaching business. She is a true giver and receiver of love and has had an interesting

journey surrounding love. She was married 10 years then divorced, has had to raise 3 boys and is

a mentor to many young women. Her love story is a struggle in itself. It is an experience deeply

detailed with hurt, abuse, uncertainty and fear. All of these things however have created the

woman she is today. It has offered her growth in areas that were shallow. She is now in a position

to instill into her kids obviously, but future mentees who may not have that person in their life to

talk about love with them. Her words of encouragement are to always stay faithful. The results

will come but you gotta faith it until you make it. She is a follower of Christ like myself so her

faith in God truly cannot be deterred. Her belief on how love shows up comes directly from 1

Corinthians 13: 4-8 the scripture I mentioned in my recent paragraph. There are many benefits

to gain from a truly opinionated source when the source is based on their life experiences.
 Razor 7

What does love mean to you? I hope while you were reading this you asked yourself this

question a few times along with many other questions pertaining to the different sources

provided. In what areas in your love can your love improve? Are you mistaking love for some

other feeling or emotion? Love is such a beautiful thing that can be viewed in many different

ways while being beneficial. I believe the sources I chose provide what is needed to answer the

question presented. I believe they all have a way of demonstrating what love looks like and how

it may be perceived . I believe they also share what love may not look like and what it can be a

false perception of. They combine life experiences with the defining of words and the

interpretation of actions. Love is love is love is love is saying that is the truest form of explaining

it. It is unexplainable in human understanding but is great in its nature. Can you define love?
 Razor 8

Works Cited

What is Love? Kendra Cherry. August 2, 2020.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-love-2795343

What is Love? - Melissa De Witte- Stanford February 13, 2020

https://news.stanford.edu/2020/02/13/what-is-love/

We are Defining Love the Wrong Way - David Wolpe- February 16, 2016

https://time.com/4225777/meaning-of-love/

How Do You Define Love? - Susan Pease Gadoua- February 14, 2015

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/contemplating-divorce/201502/how-do-you-define-lo

ve

Razor, Tralena. Personal Interview- Mar 6, 2022

Razor 9