Field Notes
love
- noun
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
Me: What’s love, ma?
Ma: Love? Who knows! I used to think I loved your pa, and look where that left me. Listen to me, son, if there’s anything you take with you about love, it’s that it doesn’t exist. Not the kind of love you hear about in movies and song and books, at least. No, the real love is family. I love you and your sis like I’m sure me own ma loves me, you know? Family love, well that runs blood deep. Keep drying while I talk, will ya?
From what I’ve seen in movies, love is someone frustrating who is everything you’re not and then somehow realising they’re everything you need. In movies, love is romanticized.
Me: Hey pa, what’s love?
Pa: Well, love is nothing more than an imbalance of serotonin.
The term “love” is from the Sanskrit lubhyati, meaning “desire."
Me: Sis, do you know what love is?
Sis: I hope this isn’t ‘the talk’. Because I am not the person for that.
Me: No, I just-
Sis: Okay, then listen up. Love is-. Love is that someone who will kiss you first thing in the morning when you taste like old eggs. Love is that best score you’ve ever got on a test. Love is that tingling, like when you’ve been sitting on your foot for too long. Only all over. Got it?
From what I hear in songs, love is painful and always over too soon and never ending want. In songs, love is an addiction.
Me: Ever thought about love?
Marcy: Is there something you want to tell me?
Me: ....
Marcy: Well, the way I see it, love is here. Love is now. Love hits hard and fast. Keep up or get out, y’know? Love is like your favourite ride only faster and steeper and way more terrifying, only the thrill - the thrill is worth it. And once the ride starts slowing down, you know it’s going to end soon. And then you get off and move on, y’know?
The human heart is a pear-shaped structure about the size of a fist.
Me: I was just thinking about love...
Teacher: Love is never the same to two people and yet is universally understood. Why is that I wonder?
Me: That’s sort of what I’m wondering.
Teacher: Good luck on your quest.
From what I read in books, love is sex and red lipstick stains and cigarettes. In books, love is two-dimensional.
Me: Any thoughts on love, Pastor?
Pastor: The love of the Lord is all you need. Why do you ask?
Me: I’ve just been thinking-
Pastor: Well, don’t think too hard. Love is glorious and relinquishing and opens up so many new possibilities. Love is infinite and as long as you stay faithful, the benefits are vast. This is all pertaining to God, yes?
Experts insist that the average person falls in love seven times before marriage.
Me: Sorry sir, could I bother you with a philosophical question?
Bus Driver: Go ahead.
Me: What are your feelings about love?
Bus Driver: The way I see it, love is a skill. You’re not just born with it. Like reading or writing, you have to train it and hone it. If you can’t love your family, your blood, it’s pretty safe to say that’s where it stops.
From what I understood in fairy tales, love is all knights and armour and damsels in high towers. In fairy tales, love is always a happy ending.
Me: Any thoughts on love, Uncle Chet?
Uncle Chet: Love is a fairy tale for teenagers. You start with Santa Clause and work your way through the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Once you’re ready to give up on the concept, love comes into play. It’s no more real than a giant bunny carrying around dyed chicken eggs.
When a person falls in love, the ventral tegmental area in the brain floods the caudate nucleus with dopamine. The caudate then signals for more dopamine; the more dopamine, the higher a person feels. The same system becomes activated when someone takes cocaine.
Me: That’s all love is, pa?
Pa: Why would it be anything more?
- noun
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
Me: What’s love, ma?
Ma: Love? Who knows! I used to think I loved your pa, and look where that left me. Listen to me, son, if there’s anything you take with you about love, it’s that it doesn’t exist. Not the kind of love you hear about in movies and song and books, at least. No, the real love is family. I love you and your sis like I’m sure me own ma loves me, you know? Family love, well that runs blood deep. Keep drying while I talk, will ya?
From what I’ve seen in movies, love is someone frustrating who is everything you’re not and then somehow realising they’re everything you need. In movies, love is romanticized.
Me: Hey pa, what’s love?
Pa: Well, love is nothing more than an imbalance of serotonin.
The term “love” is from the Sanskrit lubhyati, meaning “desire."
Me: Sis, do you know what love is?
Sis: I hope this isn’t ‘the talk’. Because I am not the person for that.
Me: No, I just-
Sis: Okay, then listen up. Love is-. Love is that someone who will kiss you first thing in the morning when you taste like old eggs. Love is that best score you’ve ever got on a test. Love is that tingling, like when you’ve been sitting on your foot for too long. Only all over. Got it?
From what I hear in songs, love is painful and always over too soon and never ending want. In songs, love is an addiction.
Me: Ever thought about love?
Marcy: Is there something you want to tell me?
Me: ....
Marcy: Well, the way I see it, love is here. Love is now. Love hits hard and fast. Keep up or get out, y’know? Love is like your favourite ride only faster and steeper and way more terrifying, only the thrill - the thrill is worth it. And once the ride starts slowing down, you know it’s going to end soon. And then you get off and move on, y’know?
The human heart is a pear-shaped structure about the size of a fist.
Me: I was just thinking about love...
Teacher: Love is never the same to two people and yet is universally understood. Why is that I wonder?
Me: That’s sort of what I’m wondering.
Teacher: Good luck on your quest.
From what I read in books, love is sex and red lipstick stains and cigarettes. In books, love is two-dimensional.
Me: Any thoughts on love, Pastor?
Pastor: The love of the Lord is all you need. Why do you ask?
Me: I’ve just been thinking-
Pastor: Well, don’t think too hard. Love is glorious and relinquishing and opens up so many new possibilities. Love is infinite and as long as you stay faithful, the benefits are vast. This is all pertaining to God, yes?
Experts insist that the average person falls in love seven times before marriage.
Me: Sorry sir, could I bother you with a philosophical question?
Bus Driver: Go ahead.
Me: What are your feelings about love?
Bus Driver: The way I see it, love is a skill. You’re not just born with it. Like reading or writing, you have to train it and hone it. If you can’t love your family, your blood, it’s pretty safe to say that’s where it stops.
From what I understood in fairy tales, love is all knights and armour and damsels in high towers. In fairy tales, love is always a happy ending.
Me: Any thoughts on love, Uncle Chet?
Uncle Chet: Love is a fairy tale for teenagers. You start with Santa Clause and work your way through the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Once you’re ready to give up on the concept, love comes into play. It’s no more real than a giant bunny carrying around dyed chicken eggs.
When a person falls in love, the ventral tegmental area in the brain floods the caudate nucleus with dopamine. The caudate then signals for more dopamine; the more dopamine, the higher a person feels. The same system becomes activated when someone takes cocaine.
Me: That’s all love is, pa?
Pa: Why would it be anything more?