What is love

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I feel like I'm on the urge of losing the understanding of what it means to love someone. I haven't had a date in 2 years with only being with one girl when I was in high school. Falling in love can mean so damn much. People and their preferences most likely being an issue I just can't get over with. Doesn't help that not only I have AS but being a black as well means I'm going have to deal with LOTS of idiots who will judge me as being the "stereotype".

Love is not something that has a simple definition.

There are many different kinds of "love"--some of which I don't know anything about.

1. There's that love which, to me is: LUST + DESIRING YOUR PARTNER TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND + WANTING TO SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE MARRIED TO THAT PARTNER. I think this is the best kind of "love," and the most fulfilling. I don't believe, one loves someone that way, that one has to SPEND EVERY LIVING MOMENT WITH THAT PARTNER.

2. There's "universal love"--you love all living things, because you feel they have the right to exist.

3. There's "family love." I believe love for your pet, at times, reaches this level.

4. There's love for your friend.....which is number 1 without the lust.

5. There's altruistic love for the "less fortunate/vulnerable."

There's many more--but that's all I could think of off-hand.

Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more.....

Okay, in all seriousness, I don't know if anyone knows the exact answer. I think love is an umbrella term for any and all affection/affinity you have for others. I think it is a consequence of being social animals with high cognition. But what it means to you is really up to what you want out of it. Our social and interpersonal relationships do have a function, even if they are not as necessary as when we were hunter-gatherers. Even so, we still can't survive in this world without being associated with other people.

I'm guessing you mean romantic love. Well, I guess it makes sense that our ancestors would have had big sex drives and a strong affinity for their sexual partners. Makes sense, seeing as gestation can take a while and survival of the species is contingent on constantly reproducing and that mothers carry their young to full term. Now that our planet is so overrun with us, sex is mostly recreational and relational (not all cultures, though). I guess lust and romance are separate, but they are heavily related to each other.

But asking what love is I think is missing the point. Maybe you should be asking "what does it mean for me to love and what do I need", because (as you can guess) this stuff is all very subjective.

Love is when you need someone to love you and are wiling to give them what they want in return.

If they stop giving you love, you'll stop giving them love. If you don't, they'll get a restraining order on you and you'll be a pathetic creep.

While it may be difficult to pin down a definition of love that we can all agree on, I think that we can find common consensus for the claim that the most hurtful lie ever told is "I Love You".

By my personal definition, Lust is contained within love.

How big a part lust plays depends upon the loving relationship.

This is love.