"THE NATURE OF LOVE"

To Love;
    Is to feel another's suffering more keenly than our own.
To Love;
    Is to share another's joys more deeply than could be felt singly.
To be Loved;
    Is to know that we are not alone.
To be Loved, and have our suffering shared;
    Is to feel our burdens lightened.
To be Loved, and have our joys shared;
    Is to enjoy them more fully.

To Love;
    Is to bestow importance.
To be Loved;
    Is to feel significant.
To Love, and have that Love returned;
    Is to know that all other questions about existence pale in comparison.

I Love;
    Therefore I am.
I am Loved;
    Therefore I am real.

Love is equally loss of self;
    And sustenance of self.
Shared Love must be cherished;
    As the essential food of our psyche. 

Love exists;
    So that we might know our existence as more than ephemeral.
Love exists;
    So that we might know life.

And thus:
    So long as we live, we will love;
    So long as we love, we will be loved; and
    So long as we love and are loved, we will live and know life.

Love and Life are inexorably connected;
    Neither can have meaning without the other!

                                             © Cherry Zimmer, June 26, 1997