What Is Love?

What is love?
Answer 1: Ask any number of people, and their will no doubt be poetic, full of imagery and loose metaphor. Indeed, love is primarily just a word invented by humans to describe an emotion, and so by its very nature is eternally difficult to describe. But, despite of this there is some science behind it all. And chemical imbalances in your brain are often to blame for the joy and ecstasy you may feel whilst being 'in love'. Love is thought to develop over a series of 'stages'. These stages are:

• Lust
• Attraction
• Attachment

Lust is there to help expose people to others, and is the initial sexual desire. It promotes mating on a very instinctive level, and involves the a heightened release of chemicals such as testosterone in males and estrogen in females. The initial effects of lust don't very often last longer than a few weeks or months, before the more specific attraction sets in.

Attraction is a lot more specific to an individual and marks the start of a romantic desire for a particular person with regards to their candidacy for partnership. It develops out of lust as commitment to an individual partner expands. Studies have shown that as a relationship develops and people start to fall in love, the brain releases a steady stream of chemicals including dopamine, pheromones, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These chemicals act in a manner similar to that of amphetamines, stimulating the brain's pleasure centers, leading to side effects such as a loss of appetite, an intense feeling of excitement, and an increased heart rate.

These first two 'stages' of love are considered temporary, and so the third one, attraction, is deemed to be needed in order to for long-term relationships. During attachment, a bond forms that helps to promote relationships the could go on to last for many years and even decades. The attachment is based on commitments - commitments such as marriage and children - or mutual friendships based on shared interests etc. Higher levels of chemicals like vasopressin and oxytocin have been linked more to long-term relationships as opposed to short-term relationships.

Of course, the above 'stages' refer to interpersonal love. That is, the love between two human beings. But we can also be said to love objects, goals, or principles if we value them greatly and are deeply committed to it, which is known as an impersonal love.
Source:http://www.blurtit.com/
Answer 2:It is one of the most difficult questions for the mankind. Centuries have passed by, relationships have bloomed and so has love. But no one can give the proper definition of love. To some Love is friendship set on fire for others Maybe love is like luck. You have to go all the way to find it. No matter how you define it or feel it, love is the eternal truth in the history of mankind.

Love is patient, love is kind. It has no envy, nor it boasts itself and it is never proud. It rejoices over the evil and is the truth seeker. Love protects; preserves and hopes for the positive aspect of life. Always stand steadfast in love, not fall into it. It is like the dream of your matter of affection coming true. Love can occur between two or more individuals. It bonds them and connects them in a unified link of trust, intimacy and interdependence. It enhances the relationship and comforts the soul. Love should be experienced and not just felt. The depth of love can not be measured. Look at the relationship between a mother and a child. The mother loves the child unconditionally and it can not be measured at all. A different dimension can be attained between any relationships with the magic of love. Love can be created. You just need to focus on the goodness of the other person. If this can be done easily, then you can also love easily. And remember we all have some positive aspect in us, no matter how bad our deeds maybe. And as God said �Love all�

Depending on context, love can be of different varieties. Romantic love is a deep, intense and unending. It shared on a very intimate and interpersonal and sexual relationship. The term Platonic love, familial love and religious love are also matter of great affection. It is more of desire, preference and feelings. The meaning of love will change with each different relationship and depends more on its concept of depth, versatility, and complexity. But at times the very existence of love is questioned. Some say it is false and meaningless. It says that it never exist, because there has been many instances of hatred and brutality in relationships. The history of our world has witnessed many such events. There has been hatred between brothers, parents and children, sibling rivalry and spouses have failed each other. Friends have betrayed each other; the son has killed his parents for the throne, the count is endless. Even the modern generation is also facing with such dilemmas everyday. But �love� is not responsible for that. It is us, the people, who have forgotten the meaning of love and have undertaken such gruesome apathy.

In the past the study of philosophy and religion has done many speculations on the phenomenon of love. But love has always ruled, in music, poetry, paintings, sculptor and literature. Psychology has also done lot of dissection to the essence of love, just like what biology, anthropology and neuroscience has also done to it.

Psychology portrays love as a cognitive phenomenon with a social cause. It is said to have three components in the book of psychology: Intimacy, Commitment, and Passion. Also, in an ancient proverb love is defined as a high form of tolerance. And this view has been accepted and advocated by both philosophers and scholars. Love also includes compatibility. But it is more of journey to the unknown when the concept of compatibility comes into picture. Maybe the person whom we see in front of us, may be least compatible than the person who is miles away. We might talk to each other and portray that we love each other, but practically we do not end up into any relationship. Also in compatibility, the key is to think about the long term successful relationship, not a short journey. We need to understand each other and must always remember that no body is perfect.

Be together, share your joy and sorrow, understand each other, provide space to each other, but always be there for each others need. And surely love will blossom to strengthen your relationship with your matter of affection.
"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."
William Shakespeare.