What is love? A question for the ages.))) How much poetry has been written and how many songs have been sung on this topic? Is love fleeting and ephemeral or solid, concrete?

Me, I am a dyed in the wool romantic. Love is about duty, courage, faith, hope, optimism, kindness, passion, devotion, belief, fierce, gentle, great, small, good, total, all-consuming, selfless, enduring, forgiving, understanding, earthy and sublime. The reality of love is that there are not enough words to capture it or describe it fully. When one is in love it permeates the very fabric of our lives, touches everything and makes the most bleak situation better and better still.

To lose love is to know the full meaning of being bereft, alone and without solace, adrift in a desert waste, alone in darkness. Slowly your perception changes with the admittance of light from the stars and moon, the coming of a new dawn. Memories of love sustain us in the dark times and allow us to be certain of better times to come. If we are bold enough to have loved once, then we know we can love again.

Dogs, cats and horses have much to teach us about love if we open our hearts to them. Babies likewise with their cooing, smiles and innate trust when we hold them. We see elderly people whose love has endured for decades. Love is all around us, always. Love is worth everything. Love is the secret of the meaning of life. It matters little what we do in this world if we do not love and allow ourselves to be loved.