Phenomenology of Love: Reflection Paper

Many definitions have been given in line with the term love and still we haven’t come
up with a concrete definition of its existence. People value love before anything else
in any way that love can be related in their lives. It may be love as commitment, love
for oneself, love for material things, love for your family or may it be friendship.
Coming up with these ideas, some philosophers and writers have also given their
notion about love.

The idea of love brings millions of indescribable feelings to a man. It arouses the
inner self and excites his inner being. Most of the time, it brings happiness and can
also lead to sorrow. For that reason, love can be considered as the most powerful thing
in a man’s life. It has become a part of an individual, for everything that touches him
and everything that he touches in the world can be related with this. Love can be
branched into many subparts for it is a broad idea which can be extended in any way
that a man wishes to elaborate its idea. The article gave an emphasis on how a man
has understood the idea of love and a philosopher has related love with the concept of
loneliness. Loneliness was said to be the root of the feeling of love, for a man only
understands everything around him when he is feeling down. In this state, he realizes
that he is different with the others and so he becomes vulnerable. When given
attention and affection, that’s when a person becomes reliant with another human,
may it be opposite or same gender. That’s when he experiences love. Along with the
process, he feels lonely again and finds himself empty so he chooses to be alone and it
is also love, because he finally learns how to appreciate his ownself, which is love for
himself.

The journey of finding oneself doesn’t stop there. A man who is broken and finally
gains his integrity again will get along with life’s rollercoaster and will meet different
individuals again, allowing him to feel again. This is quoted as the meeting of
persons. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the crossing of paths with one another
but in a deeper sense, it is how another individual greatly affects a man’s vulnerability
wherein they will both benefit for they will learn different things from each other.
They’ve also discussed the appeal of the other which can be translated into man’s own
instinct. It’s his free will to give himself to another being. It’s something inside him
that pushes him to do things out of love in his own perspective. It allows a man to be
mindful of the things that he will do for love, not only for love for the other but also
for himself. Another concept elaborated was the reciprocity of love or the idea of how
a man gives love and how he accepts love which is given to him in return. Each
context were related to one another for the appeal of the other is also connected with
reciprocity and so goes along with the creativity of love, unity of love, the gift of self,
equality and other definitions of love.
Discussion
Every single idea, concept and interpretation given by philosophers and writers
according to love was extremely acceptable for it has basis to which man can relate in
his everyday life. Love has greatly influenced and affected us in every way in our
daily living. We can’t imagine life without love. Thousands or millions of meanings
can be given by experts in line with this concept but it is only us who can understand
the deeper connection of love in our own self and how it binds with other living and
non-living things around us. A man can be a poet when he is in love for it gives him
the idea of love as a magical experience or it may turn him into a massochist to his
own self for how love has turned him into a different man that he was before and how
it has broken him. Love has also been related with reciprocity for what is given to the
other must also come with the same love which should be given to him in return. If a
man respects the other, it is already love in the form of loving his being different with
the others.

Conclusion, Recommendation and Suggestions

In relation to my own understanding about love, it is truly the most powerful thing in
a man’s life. It greatly affects us in every way that it wishes to affect us without us
even knowing how it changes us. For this reason, we can’t be able to give a concrete
definition of this term. Love is love, as simple as that. As simple as it may sound, love
has given us tons of ideas and it’s up to us on how we can relate to it. Without love,
the world will be empty. Without the millions of indescribable feelings that it gives
us, one cannot understand how to actually live and I believe that it is impossible for us
to not feel anything.

It is not necessary that we need to give a definition about it but what matters most is
how we understand it in any way that it gives an impact to our own self and to how
we give a part of us with others in its concept. We are raised in this world without the
idea of what love really means but we are only given the feeling from what we receive
from people we meet and we give it in return without them asking for it. We shall not
be afraid to show love, to give love, to not receive love and still be contented with it
for love is something which is not seen but is always there.