What is love?

Remember Dr. Alban? He asks the question we all want the answer to: "What is love?"

At school we had heated debates with our English teacher who said emphatically that you just cannot love anything other than another human. She said we can't possibly love our pet cat or dog. But you could love Shakespeare? Not so sure...

So as it is "V" day - what is love? I think I love relatively easily... I love my parents and family. I loved my cat Nelson (after Nelson "Madiba" Mandela!) - he was a great cat and I know he loved me back! I love my friends. Living away from family your friends become your family and are your pillars and support. Do I love my job? Sometimes. In retrospect, I love most of my ex-boyfriends. They are good people. I'd like to think I wouldn't have dated them otherwise.

But all that is different to being "in love".

We joke in the office saying "I love you, but I'm not in love with you". I love this line - it works and it puts relationships with people in perspective.

There's another great line that I love: "I may love you, but I don't have to like you at this moment." - a great line!

I love wine. I love food. I love them together. And even better when together with the people you love.

Could I be "in love"? Maybe. But maybe it's that cheeky word "infatuation" - which I think is such a dangerous word. It plays with you. Toys with you. It distorts perspective. It can be mean. And it can hurt. A lot. We've all witnessed the pain and confusion our friends have been through during those blind moments of infatuation. So maybe, just maybe.... we should just dive in - take a gigantic leap... and shout: "I am in love!"

But only if he's worth it!*

Happy Valentines Day!

* Note: Taking a gigantic leap or a dive into the unknown of course may hurt the most of all. But maybe it's the result and reward that will be oh so worth it? I'll keep you posted and I look forward to your point of view on love...