Actually love is difficult to define because it is subjective so that each individual can have a different understanding of love, depending on how he lives and experiences in nature. However, to give us an idea of the meaning of love, we will try to define love in general and in the opinion of experts.
Definition of Love in General
Love is an emotion that comes from strong affection and attraction to an object can be anything like humans, animals, plants, tools and so on with a tendency to sacrifice, have empathy, attention, affection, want to help and want to follow whatever is desired by the object in his love.
Love is a feeling given by God to a pair of people to love each other, have each other, meet each other, understand each other, etc. Love itself cannot be forced at all, love can only work if both parties have the same feelings. Love cannot be established if they are selfish.
Love cannot be forced and it sometimes comes accidentally. Love is beautiful but the pain that it leaves sometimes lasts longer than love itself. The boundaries of love and hate are also very thin but with love, the world we live in feels lighter.
Love is someone's feelings towards the opposite sex because of the attraction towards something that is owned by the opposite sex such as nature, face, and character. But understanding and mutual understanding are needed to be able to continue the relationship, must cover each other's shortcomings and be willing to accept their partners as they are, without coercion by either party. Sharing likes together and sharing sadness together.
Love is in the emotional and rational realms that come and go unpredictably, for example, I love you at first sight, even though I'm not happy with him I still love him, etc.
The definition of love, in general, is an emotion or feeling found in a human being aimed at another human being or other objects that are around him.
Another opinion says, the definition of love is a human activity towards other objects around it, which is done in the form of empathy, compassion, attention, help, self-sacrifice, and fulfil the object's request.
Love is something pure and sincere that arises without coercion or something made up. Love can make that person motivated to make changes better than before.
Love is the deepest feeling in humans that makes them willing to sacrifice anything for the happiness of the people they love. The sacrifice was sincere, not expecting a reply. If for example giving a lot of gifts to someone but on condition that the person must reciprocate by wanting to be his girlfriend, that is not love in his name. Love cannot be measured by material wealth or wealth.
Love can make a person blind to everything just for the sake of affection for his lover. With love, someone will feel joy and sorrow together with the person they love without attaching importance to themselves. So, love is not happiness for ourselves. Even so, we must not make the wrong move so that it does not lead to misery.
Definition of Love According to Experts
In order to better understand what the definition of love is, we can refer to the opinions of the following experts:
According to Jalaluddin Rumi, the definition of love is the source of all things and the essence of all life forms that exist in the world because the world and life arise because of the power called love.
The definition of love according to Scott Peck is a desire in humans to develop themselves with the intention of maintaining one's own spiritual growth or spiritual development of others.
According to Quraish Shihab, the definition of love is the tendency of the human heart for something because of the pleasure or benefits that can be obtained from loved ones.
According to Abdullah Nashik, the meaning of love is a feeling of the soul and turmoil of the human heart that drives a person to love his lover with tenderness, passion, and affection.
According to Musafir bin Said az-Zahrani, the definition of love is the most important emotion in human life and is the most important factor in uniting human feelings, and the formation of affection among humans.
Meanwhile, the definition of love according to Erich Fromm is a feeling of sympathy in humans that involves deep emotions. According to Erich Fromm, there are five conditions in the effort to realize love, namely:
1. Introduction
2. Feeling
3. Responsible
4. Attention
5. Mutual respect
Those are some explanations about the definition of love in general and love in the opinion of experts. Hopefully, this explanation can be a reference for us in understanding how important love is in our lives.