In Defence of Love

If you’ve read any of my previous work, you’ll know I like to strike a balance between sentimental and sarcastic (at least that’s what I’m going for, anyway). But today I’m afraid it’s a break from tradition: it’s completely sentimental. And for good reason. People keep popping up in my life who think love is a social construct. A waste of time. Not true. Just brain chemicals.

Now, you’re all entitled to your opinion. But I just cannot believe the ignorance of it.

Love is obviously an overused word. And it is absolutely packed full of emotion and meaning. It’s the definition of so many lives, deaths, tragedies and happiness. It’s not easily defined, but we all know what it is. We’ve all felt love, be it for our families, our friends or our significant others. It’s a powerful feeling and one that I personally wouldn’t want to swap for anything else. Love or ten million pounds? I’d choose love ten million times over.

I always think of the beginning of Love Actually when people tell me they think love is just a social construct or simple brain chemistry. The part when it talks about the Twin Towers. There were no final calls to say “I hate you”, but all were “I love you”. And when you look at life and death, it’s always about love. Go to a funeral, you feel the pain of the deceased’s family and close friends. Why? Because they loved and lost. Go to a wedding, you see two people who, out of the seven billion people in the world, found each other and fell in love. And that’s brain chemistry or a warped societal concept? I absolutely refuse it.

Love is a deep, deep emotion and feeling. And it truly knows no bounds. Love crosses all borders, ages and obstacles. You cannot stop it voluntarily and it is part and parcel of being a human being. To deny love’s existence is to deny a part of your humanity.

Perhaps the reason why some people are so against believing in love and its powers is that they cannot completely understand it. Love is funny like that. There’s no obvious explanation and it is a bit mysterious. But that’s why it’s so brilliant to believe in. No one will ever know the truth about this part of humanity, and maybe that’s what scares so many people.

So, the one thing to take away from me today is that, yes, I am a total sap. But I am also a believer in humanity and a connection beyond science and politics. Love is above the trivial. Saying otherwise is, to me, absolutely baffling.