Conference quark::human_relations-v1

Love is not quantifiable.......A person doesn't have X amount of love to give 
out and when that amount is gone, they can no longer love.  Love is not
scarce, nor is it something to throw around lightly.  

Each and every "love relationship" must be valued on its own merit, not
compared to how much someone loves another person, nor how many people they
love.  

There are quite a few people in my life that I love...each and every one of 
those love relationships is in and of itself completely different than all the
others...I love different people for different reasons.  

Take for example, the love I have for my little brother is nothing like the 
love that I have for my sister, nor the love I have for my ex-boyfriend-turned-
best-friend.   There is a part of me inside for everyone that I love, and that
part cannot be quantified......  

No one love for one person is any greater, or more special, or "better" than 
a love for any of the tohers....only different.....and special in and of itself.

There will always be room inside me for loving others, and loving others
will never detract from the love I currently hold for certain people.

/kath

An episode of Sesame Street I was watching with my son provided a metaphor
that I am fond of using for questions like this.  In the show, that dealt with
the adoption of baby Miles by the characters Gordon and Olivia, Big Bird
was worried that they would have less love for him because he would have
to share his love with the new baby.  He wondered if love was like a big
jar of birdseed - just so much to go around.  In the end he learned that
love was NOT like birdseed, and that the more you share it, the more there
is.

That's the view I take as well.

				Steve

    I agree with .1, Kathy, except for one thing.  Sometimes there are
    certain loves that are more important or more special than other
    loves.  For example, there are a number of people whom I love, but
    there is no other person whom I love as much as, or in as special
    a way, as I love my daughter.  To me, she really is much more special
    than any of the other people.  Next, I would say that an SO
    relationship where I was actually living with/or married to the
    person would be more important or special than the love I have for
    my other friends and family.  But, other than that, I agree with
    you.
    
    Mike, I'm just curious, why don't you think love should "mulitply
    and fill the earth"?  Don't you want an earth full of love?  It
    beats an earth full of hate. :-)
    
    Lorna
    

    re: .2
    
    "You see, Big Bird, Love is like a nuclear reaction.  If you share
    love with another person, then that person will share love with
    another, and that person will....and so on and so on and so on,
    until finally the love starts to hit the graphite control rods,
    which will absorb the excess Love, otherwise the world would be
    flooded with Love, and with the Love-glut, Love would be worthless.
    
    So be thankful for creatures like Oscar the Grouch to soak up 
    excess Love, otherwise we would have a Love-meltdown."
    
    

    Re: .6
    
    	I "LOVE" it..  I wish I could find out where the reactor is so I
    could absorb all the fall out from that reactor.  I could really use
    some of that excess stuff coming my way.
    	There is still some stuff we can all learn from Sesame Street.
    
    "Luv these notes..."
    
    Bob.   :-)
    

    I'm reminded of a song I learned at camp...
    
    "Love is nothing til you give it away
    give it away
    give it away
    love is nothing til you give it away
    you end up having more
    
    well it's just like a magic penny
    hold it tight and you won't have any
    give it away and you'll have so many
    they'll be all over the floor...."
    
     :)
    
    -Jody
    

"with the Love-glut, Love would be worthless"

This was part of what I was asking about.  The perception is that if love is
everywhere, it would be worthless.  In general in order for something to be
valuable it must be scarce.

Does this apply to Love?  I hope not.  What do you think?

I think that things must have some intrinsic value, independant of it's supply &
demand value.

In any case, I think that we're several magnitudes short of a comfortable supply
of love in this world, so keep spreading it around...

Jim.

.8>    I'm reminded of a song I learned at camp...


	 Jody,

	 that was one of my favorite songs in church camp while I was
	 growing up!  Ahhh....you've brought back some very fond
	 memories of yester-year for me, thanks!

	 And some very fond memories of what love really is.

	 kath