What Does 'Love' Mean?

I love you.

Do I? Or do I like you? Do I love you the way I love my fish? Or do I love you the way I love my warm wooly socks?

Part of the confusion that comes from having one word in English to describe love, is that we misinterpret things, currently and historically.

I love my husband.
I love my children.
I love my God.
I love my rabbits.
I love reading.
I love popsicles.
I love colors.

One word describes my feelings for all these things - love. But I'm not feeling the exact same emotion for any of them.

Perhaps this has been a source of confusion throughout history. It certainly is now. Historically, the word was used more liberally to describe relationships of all kinds. Now it is used more frequently to describe how we feel about our stuff.

Is it because we're more material? While that could be so, it's not the point in this post. That would be far too serious a topic to be handled on this blog.

I wonder if we are more cautious with the word or more flippant with the word because it could be so easily misconstrued. What will people read into it?

There's the ever awkward 'I love you like a sister'. That takes something away from the warmth of the feeling. Why isn't there a distinct word just for that kind of love? Or a word for the way we love deity? Or a lesser word for the way we love our stuff? A special word for the way we love our spouse would be a beautiful thing.

It is sometimes said English speaking people are cold and don't show their feelings well. Maybe it's because we lack the proper words for those feelings.

I love my fellow man, so I love you, but in a normal love-my-fellow-man way, not in a creepy, weird, stalking you way.

See? Awkward.