The Context of Love in Society Today

According to dictionarycom , love is defined as “ a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.” It can also be defined as ” to have a strong liking for, take great pleasure in“. I like these definitions because they are simple and very straight forward. I think that love as a word, as a concept, or as a feeling often gets attached to many other words and definitions in a struggle to clearly try and define what it truly means to each of us, Many times we attach the word love to attachment, fondness, compassion, warmth, intimacy, and commitment.

I also think that more times then not , the meaning or idea oflove gets attached to more negative associates, such as betrayal, obsession, lust, and idolatiziont I think what has happened in our present day culture , is that we’ve overdefined love and probably most importantly, how we express love. Love can be shared with many things ePeople, animals, friends, parents, lovers, coworkers, Maybe you love your career, your internship, or you love being a student.

Maybe you love nature. The ocean, the treets, and the way the sun sets. Maybe you love to let loose. Maybe you look the taste of an ice cold drink on a warm Friday night after a long week of work. As a common saying goes , “to each his own“. What I have learned from my personal experience is that it isn’t necessarily as important what or who wel ove, but how we love, that makes the most significant impact on ourselves and those around us.

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For example — Let’s take a look at the marriage rates in the United States, However, I want the focus here to be on the success rate ( lack of) or in other words, the divorce rate. Generally speaking, when you talk to the US. population, most people are familiar with the fifty percent divorce rate number that has some how popped up in people‘s heads over the years.

According to the University of Denver’s Scott Stanley – “The 40-50 percent comes from a detailed analysis ofvarious population demographics, including ages, life span projections, etc. It represents a sophisticated projection ofa calculated risk, much like projected life spans for babies born today… [It] is a valid projection under current conditions and it pertains to new, first time marriages. ” (Stanton, parst 8-9) Now, what caused the divorce and if its related to] (we and its many complicated definitions, is arguable, its still worthy enough to say that love was most likely one of the factors in the equation. The reason why I chose marriage first is because marriage is seen and renowned as the one of, if not the most intimate, special bond that two people can share with one and other. According to English Oxford living dictionary, marriage is defined as “ the legally or formally recognized union oftwo people as partners in a personal relationship. “ Although, culturally in the United States, marriage has been seen as a household norm or standard, it wasn‘t exactly seen like that in my life or the lives ofthe people around me. I was always taught and raised to believe that marriage is a beautiful thing. I was also taught, some from others, some from experience, that marriage also isn’t for everyone.

I think that marriage has typically been viewed as the greatest sign or indicator that you truly love someone. However, as time and humanity progresses, I believe in the future, we will find other less painful, and less costly ways to tell ourselves how much we love one and other. Many people love their career, they adore the view from their office, the thrill of each day being different, or even the smiles ofall the familiar faces at your work place. Maybe your love for yourjob is more financially motivated. Maybe your working for a certain position/level. Maybe your working for perks and incentives Maybe you just love the fact that you are doing something that you have a passion for. People work hard for many reasons. Just as people love for many reasons People work hard to advance themselves to the next level and/or some work because they truly care about what they do. When people say “why else would you become a teacher… unless you loved yourjob?“ That is a prime example of how love can be expressed It can be expressed through working two-three jobs to pay for your classes, through the many dedicated hours in and outside of school that you commit to writing papers, studying, and doing homework, or doing an internship without pay so that you can get enough experience to hopefully one day, land that dream gig that you always wanted Love is power.

I think that when people truly love their careers, then that love is then turned and spreads towards other people , starting with the customers and clients. Love can be used to move society forward at a rate that we haven‘t seen before. I think as our consciousness develops more and more , we will start to see the results from the power of love. If] learned anything in the United States, it‘s that we as Americans love to celebrate. Whether it be a promotion at work, engagement party, the Super Bowl, or even Cinco de Mayo. We as Americans are always looking for an excuse to, as a common expression goes, “let loose”. Sometimes its during these times where a love for something can be formed into an addiction or bad habit. As reported by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “in 2014, 87.6 percent ofpeople over the age of 18 reported that they have drank at some point in their life 71 percent said they had drank in the past year and 569 percent ofpeople said they had drank in the past month.”

Now when we look at the statistics in that way, the numbers don’t seem as bad When you add the fact that 88,000 people (men and women) die per year and that alcohol is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States , the statistics start to look a little scarien I think that culturally, social drinking is widely viewed as being aceptable and unproblematic. The culture of binge/heavy drinking on US universities campuses is still astounding to me I believe it is during this time, that the first love of drinking develops. Not only for its taste, but more for its effects on the brain. Alcohol’s ability to numb you emotionally and put some ease on the logical/reasoning parts of our brains.I think that a lof of times people have gone too far for their love of going out, feeling social or accepted, or the need for a stress reliever through alcohol, that many people don‘t realize they have developed a problem or addiction before its too late. I think that life and everything in it, including love should be taken in moderate amounts.

In conclusion, love has many definitions as to what it means to each individual but also how we each individually choose to express our love. Even though loving your career, going out, or getting married are all beautiful expressions, I think that finding equality in all three of those examples are just as equally important as the love itself. With a union of two people, many people choose to spend a lifetime together without the legal bond, which today is known as marriage, Many people have found happiness, not in their husband or wife, but in their partners. I think that a romantic and intimate relationship can be created and maintained between two people without having to say the words “I do”. Do i disagree with the concept of marriage — not at all Do I agree that the same amount oflove can be shared between two people who are not married , absolutely. I think when it comes to loving your career or whatever it is you wish to pursue in this world is equally as important as finding love in someone else .

The 40 hour work week has now become a minimum in the United States, and with that comes a lot of loss of free time to be spent reebalancing your own energy and the energy we put into the loved ones around us. I am an adamant believer in celebrations, having fun, and unwinding through the liquid substances we sometimes call “Spirits”, When it comes to going out, social drinking, or even celebrating the Fourth oquly, I think we should remember that just like marriage and our careers, too much of a good thing can be bad. Marriages can lead in heartbreak, divorce, and financial disagreements Obsession with careers can lead to suicide, mental breakdowns, and isolation from those who care about you and love your Overdrinking can develop into an alcoholic addiction, liver disease, or even a DUI. There is love in life, love in death, and everything in between it. Love can be found in eachother, our careers, or even the natural world around us What I‘ve learned from these experiences is that love is the most important feeling/thing you can obtain in this world but it also needs to be taken in balance to achieve a happy and successful life.