What does love really mean?

Show don’t tell; after all love is a verb. A verb is an action that shows expresses a state of being. The verb is the most important part of a sentence. Love is the most important part of a relationship-friends, lovers, family, work, sibling, spouses, you get the picture. Therefore, if love is a verb then what type of actions should one show to prove his or her love? Hmm. That’s a loaded question. I’ve thought about it since the beginning of February. I can’t help but to think about love: types and stages. First, I have one teenage daughter who is in love. Second, I have a mother who has fallen out of love. Then I have another daughter who believes saying “I love you means nothing.” My mind spins. I see spouses who say they love but abuse: emotionally, verbally and physically. I hear people say they love, yet they love a person for whom they want them to be or who they once were. So again, what does love really mean?
As a writer, I wanted to explore this verb: love. So, I’ve decided to include a love story in my novel-in-progress. I grew bored. That’s how love works especially, romantic love, which is passionate sensual desires–eros. Now, brotherly love is warm affection shared between family or friends, not people you dislike-phileo. Still, I lost my interest in writing this type of love story. Phileo can strengthen eros; conversely, not long-lasting. I thought of Shakespeare. He writes love stories, tragic ones—Othello my favorite. My writing-energy began to build. A tragedy for this love story will work. I will not fall asleep. Why a tragedy, you ask, or not. I needed a self-sacrificing love that moved people into action and looked out for the well-being of others, no matter the personal cost. Agape. This is the highest order of love; combined with phileo everlasting. The duo withstands tragedy and endures just as 1 Corinthian 13 states:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Happy Valentine’s Day—every day