Love?

Sir Ronald, responding to Cordelia in P D. James' novel, AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN, exclaims, "Love! The most overused word in the language. Has it any meaning except the particular connotation which you choose to give it?" Sir Ronald likely speaks the truth, and raises an appropriate question. Love may well be the most overused word, and it used in so many ways as to almost divest it of any, except subjective meaning. I suggest a few layers of definite and distinguishable meanings. The title of the movie, "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing," helps us to be aware that love is not one single thing; it is many-faceted. At one level, to love is to enjoy. It is to enjoy that which satisfies personal need. At a low level it is almost indistinguishable from sexual lust, but at another level it is that which brings sheer enjoyment. Often this degenerates into sheer sentimentality and mush. Always, this kind of love is self-centered. A step up speaks of the mutuality of appreciation and enjoyment. Love is a two-way street. This is a shared interest and concern--and enjoyment. Again, love is a desire and action for an other, the desire and effort to help an other reach its fullest, its richest and most satisfying development. It is purely other-directed. Love, in the fullest sense, includes elements of all the above. Nonetheless, it is a most over-used word in its slick-worn commonality. The deed is needed much more than the word.