Today we celebrate Valentine’s Day—the day of love and romance. We express our love with delicate flowers, sweet chocolates and mass-produced words. We attempt to express how we feel and how much we care about someone. But whatever we do, doesn’t come close to how we truly feel.

More than a quarter of a century ago, Tina Turner sang

What’s love got to do with it? What’s love but a second hand emotion? Who needs a heart, when a heart can be broken?

What is love? Can we define it? Quantify it? Is there a right or wrong type of love?

I don’t know if I can answer any of the above questions. Maybe it’s easier to determine what love is not, in order to get a glimpse of what love could be.

This is not a how to article. It’s a message, maybe a bit incoherent, from my heart—I hope it reaches yours.

Love is not a second hand emotion. Love is the first and foremost driving influence behind anything good humanity has ever done. Love, at the most basic level of existence, is the instinct that keeps us alive.

Love is curiosity to explore and learn.  Love is the compass of the mind, the beat of the heart and the beauty of nature.

Love is a voice aching to be heard … a body longing to be caressed … a soul yearning to be touched. Love is the presence that listens, the hands that caress and the gesture that touches.

Love is the innocence of children, the wisdom of elders and the enthusiasm of youth.

Love does not break hearts. Lack of (or fear of) love does.  Love is what nourishes the heart. Love heals our wounds and gives us strength when we need it most.

Love is the tears of joy welcoming a newborn. It is the tears of sorrow saying goodbye to a departing being. Love is a celebration of life and its transient expressions. Love is what touches the depth of our soul.

Love is not physical. It the excitement that precedes and the joy that supersedes physical impulses. Love is the ethereal romance … the nudge of passion … the soft whisper of sensuality … the echo of desire.

Love is not logical. No one knows why we feel how we feel. We just do.

Love is the pulse of life … the rhythm of seasons … the gravitational pull of the moon.

Love is the sprinkle that equally accentuates the artistic and the mundane.

Love is not premeditated. It is the spontaneous eruption of longing and chemistry. We feel love but cannot understand it.

Love is not an old-fashioned notion. Love defies time and trends.

Love is democratic. Love comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. All feel it, rich and poor, healthy and sick, gay and straight.

Love is not religion. However, religion—in its true essence—is an expression of love.

Love is not close-minded. Love opens our world to possibilities beyond our wildest dreams.

Love does not judge. Love supports and never isolates. Love embraces and never discourages.

Love is the spectrum of action from a gentle random act of kindness to the willingness to give up the most precious possession for a just cause.

Love does not lie. Love is the truth that shines no matter what, or when. Love is what makes us cheer for the underdog and stand up for what is right.

Love is not despair. Love is the resilience of the human spirit that picks up and moves on.

Love is the many doors that open for every one that is slammed shut.

Love is what uplifts the masses to march and stand tall in the face of tyranny. Love is the flag of aspiration in every revolution for a better now and brighter tomorrow.

Love is freedom to be, and let be—freedom from fear and oppression.

Love is the spark of hope in every dream that it can come true. Love transcends what is. Love elevates to what could be.

Love is not force. It is the immeasurable power of unity and connection.  Love is the ultimate realization of our oneness.

Love is always a choice. No one can ever be forced to love or fall out of love.

Love is not an obligation. It is an all in commitment with every fiber of our being.

Love doesn’t doubt. Love is the awakening of desire and the faith in our ability and capacity to evolve.

When we love, we trust and appreciate all that is.

Love does not destroy. Love builds and does not demolish. Love honors and celebrates life.

Love is the rush of waves and the welcoming embrace of the shore. Love is the warm rays of the sun… the beating heart of earth’s molten core.

Love is motion and stillness intertwined. Love is the oxygen of life.

Love is what remains unexplained after all is explained.  It is the aftertaste of our fleeting experiences and fading memories.

Love is what’s between the I and You (as in I love you). Love is the I and You.

Love is the only truth left when we’re stripped down to our core. Love got everything to do with everything.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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