Love of my L.I.F.E

For the past week, we’ve been discussing differences in relationships. They could be categorized in four general fields. We call it L.I.F.E: Love, Infatuation, Friendship, and Exploitation.

Let me focus on love. Love is commonly believed as a give-and-take relationship, but actually it’s never like that. It’s unconditionally a give-give-give relationship. “Nemo dat quod non habet.” Nobody gives what one doesn't have.

An example could be like this: I cry because I broke-up with my girlfriend, but to whom am I really weeping for? If those tears are for me because I feel emptiness in me, therefore I have not loved but more of infatuated since am only attracted to her presence. I feel the need of her presence masked by so many other created reasons. Life is not worth living since she left me here all alone. This is never love but infatuation.

Love your neighbor + as you love yourself. The Lord commands that we should love ourselves, with a condition, “as you love yourself.” This is a very particular commandment from God. He could have just commanded to love our neighbor, yet he gives distinction to this.

The love I project to others is the love I have for myself. This is the same quality of love that one could give to the other. And so, love could only be realized if one is overflowing of love for himself. All the rest of love pouring out from him could be given to the other with the assurance from him of being stable and capable to love always.