Saturday, September 23, 2006

Kierkegaard-What is love?


"If it were true-as conceited shrewdness, proud of not being deceived, thinks-that one should believe nothing which cannot be seen by means of physical eyes, then first and foremost one ought to give up believing in love." Soren Kierkegaard

Love is what connects all people in all places at all times. Love is universal; there is no one who does not need love. Love is the source of faith. Our desparate need for love propels us to believe in something that cannot be seen, and because love can only be described in "feelings" there must always be a source for love. The undescribable existence of love is the single explanation for G-d. Our inherent desire to be selfish supercedes our ability to genuinely love on our own accord. Love must come from a greater source than our own capacities or constructs.

What is love to you? Do you love by commandment alone? Is the nature of your being synonymous with love? Do you have to give love to receive love?

When you loose faith in G-d you loose your ability to love. Love requires an extreme faith that we are only capable of with the aid of something that is beyond ourselves. The signs of faith that is lost: inability to smile; living for routine and not enjoyment; going through the motions without emotion; loss of passion for those you use to care for deeply; becoming so completely self-absorbed; everything that is wrong in your life is someone else's fault; quick to anger; rejection of the genuine love that surrounds you; tunnel vision-living for one thing that suits oneself without a care about how it affects those around you. Eventually, a life without faith/love is a lonely existence; and will leave everyone around despondent and unimpressed. The soul cries out for love...it's like reaching for the surface of the water when you're ten feet below it and out of air.