Love is everything to some and a world of hurt to others.
It means different things to different people. In fact it even has different feelings for each person. Say for instance I could say I love my (currently imagined) fella, but it has a different meaning to telling my daughter that I love her.
Love is subjective.
I love ice cream, but I wouldn't say I am in love with ice cream. Its not as if I want to marry it and set up home with it. Although a lifetime with ice cream would be a happy existence- all be it a bit fattening!
Love is fickle.
Growing up you obsessed over the stars of the day- but now do you still dream of a life with them ? Your first childhood crush- do you still feel the same about them as you did when you were 7 or 8 years old ? You love some one until they break your heart. Then your emotions change. Anger and hurt take the place of the love you once felt for them.
You have to fall in love and have your heart broken to know how it really feels to be so desperate for that person. Then you mend your heart and move on to the next. Only when you really fall deeply do you know how much joy and pain love can bring. But even that feeling varies from one to the next. And how do we really know what we feel is love and not lust, or compulsion or obsession? That pain in your heart when they upset you? Is that proof of love or just pain of rejection and not getting what you want?
To break someones illusion of their love for you is heart breaking in itself. As much as you may know its the right thing to do, it is impossible to explain to the one who loves you. When asked the question "But you said you loved me ? What changed or did you lie?" there is no real answer. You can only explain your feelings, however superficial they may sound.
Everyone deserves and needs to feel loved on some level by someone or something. In the words of John Donne "No man is an island". At the same time no one deserves to be given false feelings or hope. Be true to yourself and those around you. Love walks hand in hand with happiness. Be free with the words "I love you" but be aware of sadness taking them away brings.
