Love is a Four-Letter Word

There is a reason LOVE is a four-letter word. Not because it is "bad" like other 4-letter words (e.g. hell, damn, etc...) or because the Gods of the English language demand it. LOVE is a four-letter word because it takes 4 of the most important pieces of the Human Self for it to work.

First off, I'm sure many of you know what I am about to say, it takes your HEART. Without your heart, not only would you Physically die, but you would also die Metaphorically. Let me explain. The Heart (or the Organ of Love, whichever you so prefer) is how we express the depth of emotion we are feeling. When we are fervent in belief, we believe with all of our HEART. Not our toes, not our Gallbladder, our Heart. When we are devastated by some tragedy, our HEART is broken. When you love someone, you aren't JUST giving them your time or yourself, you are also giving them your Heart. For them to break or keep safe, for them to cherish or forget. That part of you that longs to love and be loved in return is pumping blood through out your system every second.

The second of the four is your SOUL. Quite often the Heart gets TOO much credit in the process of Love. Your soul has to be in it too. I mean, what goes on our Valentine's Day cards? Pictures of your Soul? No. It is hearts that go on the cards or are turned into candies. No one really even knows what your Soul looks like, but it's there. The Soul is what colors your perceptions, your choices, it colors YOU. For example, the Soul drives you to follow your Heart. Without the guidance of your Soul what point is there? The Bible is right when it says "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" The Soul is also your passion, your drive to do something. It is what motivates you to take those breath-taking moments and turn them into moments that last forever. That's why, when you find the one you are meant to be with forever, they are your SOUL-MATE! Because YOUR Soul is looking for it's other half, it's reason for existing. When you find the one, your soul knows it before your heart, because it recognizes the other half that makes it whole. Everyone has a SOUL-MATE! I believe this. And sometimes, its not a romantic soul-mate either. My cousin, Judy-Marie, is my Platonic Soul-Mate. Meaning, we aren't going to one day get married or anything like that. She completes the part of me that desires friendship and companionship other than Romantic. This is a GOOD THING. Besides, one cannot have Romance without a friendship of some kind.

Third is your MIND. If you are truly planning on spending the rest of your life with someone, you have to be prepared to hand over the above and your Mind. (Warning: Cheesiness ahead) A Mind is a terrible thing to waste (Hey, I warned you!) and why waste your intelligence and your innermost thoughts on someone who isn't going to appreciate them? Why would I want to waste my time with someone who won't even listen to me?! Your Mind is important, because you use it to think and to feel and connect with others. If you have Heart and Soul, but no Mind, then you aren't really enjoying the full capacity of LOVE. Being able to open up your Mind and share it with someone is a very precious gift. And Love is about being OPEN-MINDED! It is about allowing others to think and express themselves, while you think and express yourself! Being able to talk for hours about anything without being afraid of the topic or what the other might think is a good sign that you can share your Mind.

And last, but most definitely NOT least, is your BODY. This is usually where most people make their fatal mistake. They don't realize that there is SO MUCH MORE to Love than just sexuality and body chemistry. As I explained above, there are 3 other things that you need to consider before taking this giant leap with the Body. Your Body is SPECIAL. You receive only ONE when you arrive on this planet called Earth, so it is important to save it, take care of it and treat it with respect. Now, I'm not going to tell you this is where you should save yourself until you are married. That is a personal decision that should be made on your own because of what YOU Believe. Not because of something that I wrote in a blog. For me, I had to define marriage for myself. What is marriage? What does it mean to me? And then, move forward with that question. Once again, that is ME. YOU may think and feel and believe differently. But in today's society everything is defined by SEX. And SEX is NOT LOVE. Sex is a PART of Love, but it isn't the whole thing. Giving your body to someone else in this way not only is one of the BIGGEST signs of trust and love, but is also a MAJOR decision. Which is why you don't want to just give yourself away to anything with a Penis or anything with a Vagina. I am not trying to criticize anyone who has already lost their virginity, I just want to make that clear. While I do believe that it is beautiful and important, that doesn't mean that I'm cold and unfeeling and going to condemn you to hell. I believe that when you find the person who has your heart and your soul, who you can share your mind with, that's when it is the time to share your body.

In fact, all of what I have just written, is my definition of a Marriage. When you realize that someone has your heart, your soul has found it's other half and you can share your mind in all it's craziness, that's when you have found the person to share all of you with. Marriage is about giving your everything and working hard to keep it going, and when you have that, it doesn't matter if you have a piece of paper or a big diamond ring or a wedding. What matters is that you have found the half that makes you whole and you are able to enjoy the full benefits of LOVE as a four-letter word.

Post-Script: This blog has been brought to you today by the Letters V and F, as in Valentine and February. It was also brought to you by the Number 14 as in a date in February that might have something to do with a Valentine.