A word used like common table salt, often without any connectivity to genuine emotion.
A word that signifies a force greater than comprehension.
Bucky Fuller said that love was metaphysical gravity.
Before we modern English speaking humans reduced love to one word that is supposed to capture an entire Universe of contexts, the Greeks used many words to describe different elements of love. I would say that we need many more…
Eros = passion…the burn…not just sexual, but passion for life, for creativity, for art…you know when you meet someone with Eros in plenty…they have a kinetic intensity…an impossibility to accept mediocrity…the inability to not engage with their whole being. At the sexual level Eros is almost all consuming. Eros it is not simply for the sexual act, but for the love of the love of sex and pleasure. The sexual act without Eros, which is the most common form of sex that occurs on our planet, is a shadowy approximation of Eros…a bump in the night, blindfold, with gloves. When Eros and sex come together, the Earth moves for all at play.
Philia = deep friendship….the love you have for your friends…not a trace of sexual passion evident. To be able to say “I love you” to a friend of any gender is to speak Philia. My heart to your heart to my heart. Life without Philia is not a life I would want to live. I am truly blessed to have so many friends I speak of with love, sign off saying…love you….
Ludus= playful love….the love children have for each other, a spontaneous, joyful type of love…the love I have for chocolate cake, and home made apple pie….for running in a forest, swimming in the ocean, dancing…
Agape=love of human kind…or the vastness of our being….our Earth, the sacred….Agape fills us with reverence, awe…it takes our breath away…stops us stunned at the spectacle of the sunrise…of the beauty of an eagle in flight.
Pragma= practical love….love that has purpose, commitment, direction. The love someone might have to serve humanity, even at great personal cost.
Philautia= self love, including narcissism, being self centered, vain-glory…a focus on self. It may be healthy or unhealthy. To love ones self enough to care for body mind and spirit is healthy. To love self without regard for others is to fall into narcissism.
I would like to see the love we hold for our animal friends, for beauty, nature, art…to also be named.
Love plays a central role in our lives. I would argue that when we have love in its purity inform our work, our relationships, our enterprises, our choices…when love is the metaphysical gravity that moves us to put our feet on the ground every morning and take that first step…and then the second…that our life will not turn out as we expect…but it will be filled with love. We will build businesses unafraid to love…Our homes will be love. And the touch of a hand on a friends shoulder will be code for love.
Without love..we are dessicated zombies. Without enterprises that are built on a foundation of love work is reduced to the mechanics of action minus heart and soul.
The subject tonight is love….what say you? Will you talk of love?
Photo credit: Tim Hamilton via Compfight