Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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The True Meaning of Love

I worry that love is losing its meaning. By this, I mean the word “love” itself. Just consider how the word is used to discuss just about anything a person enjoys.

“I just love pho.” “I love opera music.” “I love hanging out with my friends.” However, love is something deeper than simply enjoying a kind of food or music, or a fleeting feeling of affection or gratitude. It is something much, much deeper.

Love implies a strong connection to something or someone. People tell me all the time that they love their community. These are people who chose to move here and stayed, despite various challenges associated with the area. Why? They literally fell in love with the neighbourhood, with its walkability, its diversity, and the other people here.

There are indeed those who discuss their community, neighbours, and even their vocations with as much affection and commitment as they do about their life partners. This, to me, is the true meaning of love: making a conscious choice to stick with someone or something when things are great but also in the face of obstacles.

Life is never perfect, and neither is love. Love can be complicated but worth the effort. To use the word to describe something you merely like diminishes the true meaning of the word.

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