What Is Love?
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
What Is Love?
Love can be one of the most difficult emotions to explain. Many people misunderstand love because of the way it is portrayed in movies, TV shows and romance novels.
An intense affection for another is one popular explanation; attraction based on sexual desire is another. Although there are various definitions of love, this emotion, if not handled properly can result in inappropriate behavior. Adolescence is typically the time when your perception of the opposite gender goes from “yucky” to “not so bad after all.” Suddenly you find yourself interested in someone you never really noticed before.
What Is Love?
This “sudden interest” gets a lot of people confused. They think that being interested in someone means they have to touch them. This is wrong! This false concept of love accounts for approximately 1 million teen pregnancies every year. At least one quarter of these pregnancies end in abortions, numbering 274,000. In addition, every year about 3 million teens acquire sexually transmitted diseases. Some of these diseases have no cure.
What Is Love?
So if you think you love someone, control your emotions. Remember true love is not instant. True love is a bond of mutual trust, interest and deep caring for another. True, lasting love is based on the principles of moral character. It takes time for a bond like this to form between people. Get to know that person through conversation. Moving in with a person or having premarital sexual relations with them is not the way to find out if you are compatible for a life together. A person without moral values can cause daily stress on a person who is trying to do what is right. A person whose mind is constantly on gaiety can cause mental anguish to a person whose mind is on peace. If suitable characters are matched, disagreements and divorce are rare. Get to know the person through conversation before you join hands and say vows. This way you will avoid acting impulsively and making a decision you will regret.
Source: The Peaceful Solution Character Education Program