Is Love A Mystery?

Love. Many people would say it's indescribable, undefinable, mysterious, or that everyone feels it in a different way and so it can't have a definition. And if you ask a few people who say they're in love to describe what is is, you'll probably get very different answers. But does that mean that these people you're asking are all feeling it different ways?

Maybe. Or maybe it means that some of them don't know what it is. Or perhaps they know what it is, but they don't know how put it into words. Or maybe they could figure out how to word it if they tried, but they expect to not be able to because they, also, are operating under the belief that love is a mysterious, undefinable thing. But really, what could love be other than an intensely affectionate feeling for another person? And to reach this intensity of affection, most would agree that you need to have high affinity, good communication and empathy for the object of your love. Because how can you love someone you don't first like, understand, and communicate easily with? Most reasonable people would agree that it's not possible.

Of course, if you don't agree that love is based on affinity, reality and communication, why don't you try asking someone who claims to be in love if the above things exist in high levels in their relationship? Invariably, if this person is in love, they will say yes.

Eventually, it's clear that the reason love is believed to be such a mystery when it's really so simple, is that mystery sounds romantic, simplicity doesn't. And when people fantasize about love, they don't imagine a sturdy, simple relationship, they imagine a mysterious, breathtaking, dramatic romance and that's how the notion of love got so distorted. Sure, love CAN be romantic and breathtaking (depending who you're with, really) but not always in the same way it's represented to be.

My conclusion is that love is not a mystery, we just make it one because it sounds exciting.