Inspirational People - What really is love?
I recently heard a
thoughtful sermon, given by an Episcopal priest, Debra Asis. With her
permission, I would like to share some of her thoughts on love:
I can remember my first
love. We went to kindergarten together. We put our rugs next to each other for naptime.
Then there was my first grown up love. You know that love, complete with heart
palpitations and sleepless nights. This is crazy, romantic love. It is about finding an object that we believe
will satisfy our longing and desire. The
Greeks called this kind of love Eros.
Eros is a self-serving kind of love.
Then there is this kind of love. I
love my daughter, I love old friends, and I love the people I work with. The Greeks called this kind of love
Philia. Philia is a mutual kind of love. It is the kind of love that extends to
our pets or places. Philia is a fraternal, brotherly or a personal kind of love.
Eros and Philia are loves that make us feel good or valued. They are
self-satisfying loves.
Then there is another kind of love.
It has everything to do with the person who is the object of our love. Rather
than seeing the other person as an object that will satisfy us. It is a
self-giving, rather than self-satisfying love. This is called Agape love; love that values the other. It is a way of
life. I believe it is the way life is supposed to be, right here on earth.
By Lois Jamieson
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