Love, in words

Continuing a theme: "Perhaps we love more than we believe, admit, or realise", but in ways different to how we conventionally think of it.  

The way we use language is revealing: “I loved seeing them again.”; “It was lovely to dance with him.”, “It was great that we went out for that meal together.” To a friend recently: "I love getting messages from you! They're so funny and interesting." Don’t we say these sorts of things all the time? 

It cannot just be the act of seeing or dancing, walking, or having a drink that we love, though of course we can enjoy these alone.  When we say we loved doing these things, it is the together, the with him, the seeing them that gives it meaning within the context. We love doing these things with these people.  Love is more than the deep and scary love we have for the people closest to us; scary because between new lovers it is tied to loss of control, and for others we love deeply it is tied to loss or the fear of it. I think we love, perhaps more in the Greek ways, many people in our lives.

In the same book I quoted from last time I recognised the truth of:

"To love a thing means wanting it to live" - Confucius