I made a list the other day of the people that I love. I tried to be honest and not include distant cousins & old acquaintances, but only the people who I actually feel love for. There are 10 names on the list. I don't know what to think about that. Is that small? Do I not love enough people? Or am I lucky to have that many people who I love in my life? Would other people say 100 but really only mean 5? What do you think?
I think the more you use the word to describe relationships the less meaning it has. It is similar to how Facebook ruined the meaning of the word 'friend'. Now they have categories for 'top friends' or 'bestest friends' or 'these are my real friends' or other nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIf you "loved" 100 people you would have to come up with some other term to describe the people you really, really loved.
Plus, ten is good, round number.
Well, perhaps not surprisingly I do categorize the people that I love: Family, Friend, In Love, and Burning Building. And the 10 fit into those distinctions.
DeleteWere you ever asked if something tasted good? How do you answer a question like that? Is it good passing over your taste buds? Does it taste like something you ate regularly as a child and it is associated with good feelings? Do you like sweet while the person asking likes bitter...so is it good because it is sweet or bad because it is not.
ReplyDeleteSo it is with love. What one person sees as love another may not. The question that should be asked is not how many or how much. Rather, it is do you make the best out of that love in those relationships. If you do, the hours of joy brought by the love of those relationships will be as bountiful with 5 as with 100.
A wise and happy man once said, "I have hardly met a meal I have not enjoyed".
A wise and stoned man once said, "The love you take is equal to the love you make."
Delete