Incredibly fragile...                 Infinitely strong.

"Love" Love is faith and trust Love is respect and understanding Love is feeling needed by others Love is warmth and contentment Love is open arms and hugs Love is sharing and  caring Love is accepting and giving Love is unconditional Love is life

Here's what Webster has to say about it;
1 a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties  (2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests.

Elusive LOVE
So many look at love longingly from a distance and see something unattainable. We can all see a perfect love expressed in the words of poets,  of lyricists, of authors of all sorts, we see it in movies and so many other places. We see it in a few lucky couples that we all know that have something so special that they radiate their love. It all seems like a fantasy. And as wonderful as this love appears,  sadly, it is looked at by so many, especially gays in the closet, as just a dream... something not for them. But oh how wrong they are.

For most, it's not unusual to have a vision of what love is suppose to be like, and often when love is found, it doesn't fit their mold and they often give up on love all together.  They refuse to take the risk, a very healthy risk, of trying to find that which every human being needs and wants, to love and be loved.  And how do you go about taking that risk?  Well, like coming out of the closet, it takes some guts, it takes being ready to face rejection.  It takes knowing yourself well enough to know that you are already loved by many, even if you have turned down their love in the past.  And finally after all the time of denying it,  it takes facing the fact that you deserve it,  that you are worthy of it, that you can receive love unconditionally, and be able to give love unconditionally.

Is gay love different?
I guess the most important point to be make is that love between two people is the same whether they are gay or straight. Love in it's purest form is the reflection of God's love for us. Love, when fully realized, is removed from gender and is rather a bond between two people. It is a deep caring and need to share. Being gay doesn't change your need for love or your capacity for love. In fact, I believe it makes the need and capacity greater. Who needs love more than those that have been denied their love, that have been made to feel as outcasts by society.

Each one of us, made unique by God, is special in His eyes. Each of us is loved completely by God, though not always for the way that we act or the things that we do. Love is a very special gift we are given and it should not be wasted. In fact Love is the reason we are gay. We need to love someone of the same sex.
 

Please hear these words very clearly.... Love is not sex and love is not simply romance either but rather a basis for both. Love is that powerful attraction and bond we have with our pets, friends, family, and most deeply, our partners. We need to express what is inside of us to those we care about, those who are important to us. It is because of love and our desire to express it to another that we engage in and experience romance. Sex on the other hand, is the "icing on the cake" that by itself is little more than an animal instinct but when based on love in a committed relationship it is a beautiful expression of that love and is enhanced many fold. It becomes a very beautiful and fulfilling act. It enhances who we are, and fulfills our commitment to each other in a way words can not through a very personal and intimate sharing.

An expression of Love:
"Inside of me at this very moment, there is a warmth and glow that I know if anyone else was around would see, and would even have to comment on.  It is a irrational sort a thing but it is the depth and the breath of what a human being can experience.  It is a joy that surpasses happiness, it is a peace that transcends the human ability to express verbally.  I have such confidence, so much a view of what God always intended for his beloved children.  It is knowing and being known and feeling the refreshment of not being ashamed in any way of thoughts, and hopes and desires.  It is the touch of God in a human life that previews what he has in store for us in His heavenly realm.  Love, is the source and center of all that.  In love, is what makes my life a joy to live, something to look forward to, and the goal of my future.

All my life before I met my love, I wanted a friend, a soul mate if you will, that I could be so open and honest with, someone who would know me inside and out, but I never allowed that to happen.  When we first met, what I found was what I had been looking for for all my life.  I found the one who I somehow knew right from the beginning was given to me by God.  I have never once doubted that, nor will I ever doubt that.  .

I knew for a very long time that I was done with relationships, interpersonal communications, that I was condemned to be locked away in my solitary shell for the rest of my life.  But, there was that day, that wonderful day, when I needed love so badly that I took the risk of being rejected, opened my heart and soul, told the absolute truth to another person, and found only compassion, understanding, tenderness and yes that wonderful love coming back to me.  That was my Jim, the one person in this world I has allowed to know me inside and out.  Oh, he could have rejected, I could have reaffirmed all that I believed about love in the past, and I would still be a miserable soul.  But that isn't the way it is.  I am loved, by God, for sure, and by Jim.  And because I am loved, now I can love back.  It is an old expression, but it is true....  "the more love you give, the more love you get." So if you are still looking, don't give up.  Don't be a cynic  like I once was.  Open yourself to the wonders, and beauty of really sharing your life with one who loves you.  It isn't a dream, it is real.  Take the risk, but make sure they are healthy risks, and let love in.  It is worth it!  "     --- Ken

A few final words:
Those are a lot of nice words aren't they?  But you know the expression of love goes deeper yet. Let your mind roam for a bit... put yourself into your most romantic mood.   What do you picture? Strolling arm in arm leaving footprints on a beautiful deserted beach with the warm winds softly blowing?  Curled up on a warm sofa as fire crackles in a fireplace, and music plays softly in the background and snow drifts lazily down outside?  Do you feel the touch of a hand in yours? Do you feel the brush of your love's hand across your face?  Do you see the sparkle in their eyes? The simple sharing of closeness in space and time. This is the ecstasy of love. the dance of life.  It is not something you can make happen but something that happens to you. It is an expression of your being that flows from your deepest core and when let loose and embraced fully it is God's love.  And if you will take a quick glance, you will notice these things are the same whether you are gay or straight.

Do you desire to enjoy the moment you have, or are you rushing off to that few seconds of physical pleasure?  If you are not just sitting back and soaking in all the pleasures of just being with someone who cares about what you think, how you feel, what you are doing in your life;  if you can't feel the desire to share even the most common or the most personal parts of life, well...  then my friend, you are missing the best part of love. You have allowed your emotions to be overshadowed by what Wall St. is selling you, that sex is the end all and be all of life.

Oh, but to the wise, the really wise, love expressed, is not orgasm.  Love expressed is hope and comfort, compassion sharing, and caring.  It is concern, with laughter, giggling, serious moments, tears of sorrow and  tears of joy.  It is sharing the burden, and the rewards of lives that are entwined together even though they may be separated by miles. This love does not know gay or straight. It just depends on who you need to fully express the love you have.