Defining Love

[DLL]

Originally posted by midwestyankee
Perhaps we can put a hold on the baseball dialogue and return this thread to its original purpose. If others wish to talk of baseball and such things, surely there is a better place for it. As much as I enjoy seeing the Red Sox beat the Yankees - especially in New York - I think enough is enough.

Cate, I'm sorry that it was your post that took me past my threshold for this. You've been a dear in your support of the thread and a great contributor here. Please don't take any offense at this.

to you, Cate, for wanting to spread good news.

 

[redrider4u]

SLIDESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssss in wearing my red sox.....

there....catching DLL............YOU'RE OUT!

That's right..........Prada. stockings will not save you......so.........you long island lady...........tell me how you define lust? Well........c'mon

 

[midwestyankee]

This morning's question is not so much about defining love but instead about verifying its existence.

Who has incontrovertible proof that love exists? How would you prove its existence to a complete skeptic?

 

[Shoshisexy]

Love is an intangible emotion, Yankee...Just as one cannot show incontravertible proof in a higher being, one cannot "prove" love to a skeptic. One can show it, or show demonstrations, but a true skeptic will always find another reason for the reactions we believe are based on love. Just ask any psychologist or sociologist.

I am firmly of the belief that love exists, but one must have both an open heart and an open mind to be able to feel and see it.

 

[midwestyankee]

Love is an intangible emotion, Yankee...Just as one cannot show incontravertible proof in a higher being, one cannot "prove" love to a skeptic. One can show it, or show demonstrations, but a true skeptic will always find another reason for the reactions we believe are based on love. Just ask any psychologist or sociologist.

I am firmly of the belief that love exists, but one must have both an open heart and an open mind to be able to feel and see it.

Thanks, Shoshana.

Now, I am familiar with a variety of can openers. I wonder what a heart or mind opener looks like.

 

[Cathleen]

I agree Shos....emotions can not be proven....but if I had to make an attempt...then I would ask "have you ever felt so alone, so invisible, so cold?" and if the answer was "yes", then you can't know those emotions without the opposite, which to me is a kind of love. We can't know sadness with out gladness.....the same would seem true for love. Its belief, its there, but it is unproven.

 

[Shoshisexy]

Thanks, Shoshana.

Now, I am familiar with a variety of can openers. I wonder what a heart or mind opener looks like.

It is also intangible, MWY. Sometimes it uses words, sometmes just a look from across the room. It all depends on the person and which is closed and how much. You always have to remember never to open your mind so far your brain falls out.

 

[midwestyankee]

It is also intangible, MWY. Sometimes it uses words, sometmes just a look from across the room. It all depends on the person and which is closed and how much. You always have to remember never to open your mind so far your brain falls out.

Ah, so that's the problem. I thought the oatmeal tasted funny this morning.

 

[DLL]

Originally posted by midwestyankee
This morning's question is not so much about defining love but instead about verifying its existence.

Who has incontrovertible proof that love exists? How would you prove its existence to a complete skeptic?

 

[midwestyankee]

god no baseball talk Yank....you all are way too insightful for me ...this is like reading depositions

Nope...no more baseball....we switched to breakfast foods.

 

[Shoshisexy]

*LOL* Funnyman this morning, eh, MWY? Have a great day exploring the mysteries of love, hun.

Cate, I agree with you that one cannot exist without it's opposite, but not all people subscribe to this theory. So unhappiness is not proof of the existence of happiness to them. Actually, it wasn't for me for a very long time! So...I understand what you mean, and it is a sort of proof for me, but I am not a complete skeptic. At least...not when it comes to love. Justa partial.

 

[Cathleen]

*LOL* Funnyman this morning, eh, MWY? Have a great day exploring the mysteries of love, hun.

Cate, I agree with you that one cannot exist without it's opposite, but not all people subscribe to this theory. So unhappiness is not proof of the existence of happiness to them. Actually, it wasn't for me for a very long time! So...I understand what you mean, and it is a sort of proof for me, but I am not a complete skeptic. At least...not when it comes to love. Justa partial.

I will probably never loss my skepticism.... time will tell!

 

[shyly curious]

This morning's question is not so much about defining love but instead about verifying its existence.

Who has incontrovertible proof that love exists? How would you prove its existence to a complete skeptic?

proof to a non-skeptic of what is "LOVE" is so obvious that believers cannot understand why some would doubt ...

to an skeptic, there is no "proof" that proves beyond a doubt ...

but ...

watch parents take a child to the park for the first time ...

watch two people run to meet each other as the plane unloads ...

watch the face of a young man as he proposes marriage ...

watch the face of the woman as she realises he is about to propose ...

watch someone brush the coat of their horse ...

watch the tears at a funeral ...

feel the quiver inside as "Taps" is played by a lone bugle ...

 

[No.1Pinklady]

This morning's question is not so much about defining love but instead about verifying its existence.

Who has incontrovertible proof that love exists? How would you prove its existence to a complete skeptic?

If you want to prove that love exists. Look at the face of a mother when she holds her child for the first time, the look of that childs father when he does the same.
The rush that comes when you realize that special some one is coming over.
The gentle touch of a wife as she straightens the tie of her husband in the casket.
The tenderness shown when a husband has to lead his wife home because she has forgotten why she left.
And then take a second and look in the mirror and ask yourself, how you feel about the person looking back.

 

[shyly curious]

This morning's question is not so much about defining love but instead about verifying its existence.

Who has incontrovertible proof that love exists? How would you prove its existence to a complete skeptic?

i am having trouble with this, everyone has emotions, and love is one emotion.

i have never met someone who had no emotions,


i have met people who's emotions did not match mine and did not respond to the same stimuli as i do, but they had emotions ...

are we talking about explaining "love" to an alien ???

maybe i am over thinking this ...

 

[Party Girl]

I'm not convinced it exists.

My friend Sarah's theory is that "love" isn't real - it's a chemical reaction in the body to hormonal impulses, which are so strong in some cases that it creates a feeling of euphoria, which we mistakenly term "love."

Somehow it makes a little sense to me.

 

[midwestyankee]

I'm not convinced it exists.

My friend Sarah's theory is that "love" isn't real - it's a chemical reaction in the body to hormonal impulses, which are so strong in some cases that it creates a feeling of euphoria, which we mistakenly term "love."

Somehow it makes a little sense to me.

This suggests that love exists and can be proven empirically by the presence of chemicals in our brains at specific times.

Follow-up question then: how does this theory explain the persistence of loving attachments even when there are long periods of time in between surges in hormonal impulses?

 

[Peteslaw2]

I'm not convinced it exists.

My friend Sarah's theory is that "love" isn't real - it's a chemical reaction in the body to hormonal impulses, which are so strong in some cases that it creates a feeling of euphoria, which we mistakenly term "love."

Somehow it makes a little sense to me.

 

[Party Girl]

This suggests that love exists and can be proven empirically by the presence of chemicals in our brains at specific times.

Follow-up question then: how does this theory explain the persistence of loving attachments even when there are long periods of time in between surges in hormonal impulses?

LOL Got me there. All I'm saying is that it makes sense to me that love may be an illusion that we accept simply because we look for that comfort of loving and being loved.

 

[DLL]

Originally posted by Party Girl
LOL Got me there. All I'm saying is that it makes sense to me that love may be an illusion that we accept simply because we look for that comfort of loving and being loved.

 

[midwestyankee]

LOL Got me there. All I'm saying is that it makes sense to me that love may be an illusion that we accept simply because we look for that comfort of loving and being loved.

If love is an illusion, then is it real or not? Does an illusion exist?

 

[midwestyankee]

Party Girl you are adorable!!!!

here a q for you to ponder.....

Have you ever loved someone completely and they won't let themselves love you completely???

I can answer this for myself: yes. And it hurt like hell.

And yes, I accept the pain as evidence that love exists.

 

[shyly curious]

Party Girl you are adorable!!!!

here a q for you to ponder.....

Have you ever loved someone completely and they won't let themselves love you completely???

Yes I have, ... and when i discovered she did not have the same depth of emotion for me it was painful.

what is worse, I did not learn from that experience, ...

 

[DLL]

Originally posted by shyly curious
Yes I have, ... and when i discovered she did not have the same depth of emotion for me it was painful.

 

[midwestyankee]

It's so easy
To think about Love
To talk about Love
To wish for Love

But it's not always easy
To recognize Love
Even when we hold it
In our hands

DLL

This is very poignant.

I also think that it's not easy to know that someone else holds our love in their hands - after all, it's a slippery thing sometimes and without special care it might slip right through their fingers.