what is love? baby don't hurt me.

Admit it, when you read the title of this post, you finished the chorus too, didn't you? The question of "What is love?" popped into my head today, and I couldn't help but think, "Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me...no more."

Today I was at work thinking of other things as one sometimes does when they're working, and that question just hopped onto my brain and got stuck there. I've written about love once or twice before here, but I want to really get into it today. 

I was listening to my usual playlist of John Mayer and Coldplay {try it and your workday will be transformed, promise} and John's song "Love is a Verb" appropriately came on. I don't care what your opinion of John is as a person, but you have to admit that his lyrics are incredible. I get sucked right into them.

Anyway, as I was listening, it hit me that "love" is an action word. It's not a noun, it's not a thing. You can say "I love you" to whoever you want, but what does it mean to really love them? My dad always said to us when I was growing up, "Don't give me lip service, give me action." Meaning, "Don't tell me you're going to do something, do it." I think love is a little like that. It's nice to be told you're loved, but isn't it nicer when someone shows you? I think it's because so much effort goes into showing and proving. If in a relationship, all you do is tell the person you love them, how much are you really going to progress? I don't care what kind of relationship it is, either. Romantic, familial, friendship — same thing applies. 

I love the line in the song that says, "Love ain't a crutch, it ain't an excuse. No you can't get through love on just a pile of IOUs." Then he says, "You gotta show me." There's the action again.

Is this all making sense? I hope so. I've found I have a tendency to make things up in my head and they make complete sense, but when they spill out people say, "huh?"

That's just something to think about, I guess. It's been interesting to see how people show love for others. I'm a service giver/quality timer, so this song makes a lot more sense to me. 

This morning I read Elder Ballard's talk from October 2012 General Conference, called "Be Anxiously Engaged." In it Elder Ballard says, "There is power in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Christian kindness, it will sweeten and nourish the world with the life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and charity." Isn't that beautiful? Maybe reading that talk this morning is what got me on this love kick. 

I'm sure all of you are smart enough to know what love is, but writing it out like this helps me process it and helps me see how I can show love to more people. But I know I want to be better at showing people that I love them rather than just saying it. Because I think the impact is so much greater when we make the effort.

* On a side note, my favorite line in "Love is a Verb" is "love ain't a drug, despite what you've heard." That's the best subtle jab at Ke$ha I've ever heard. ;)