What's love got to do with it.....

Love. It's what songs are written about, movies are themed with and it's what we are called to when it comes to our neighbors. It's tough stuff. We expect so much when we love don't we? We look for certain actions like care, trust, flowers on special days.... We want it from others but we dole it out sparingly sometimes. It makes the world go round, it's a second hand emotion, its endless, you can't help falling in it, and I want to know what it is..... Love is a complicated thing especially in relationships. And don't get me started on "unconditional" love, the one God asks us to have. Now I know what unconditional love looks like...I have it for my children. They can do anything, and I will still love them (don't tell them that...). But outside of them (and my dogs) i must admit, I have conditions for the people I love in my life. For my husband....well there's a long list right? For my friends, at the very least trust and of course to share a few cocktails every now and again. For my extended family I expect that bond we created all these years and to help with the holiday clean up. So how am I supposed to "unconditionally" love. It's a tough one. There are few people who nailed that - ie Mother Teresa and I am among the masses that hasn't gotten there yet. I have heard it said, "Love is willing the good of the other person" I can do that!!! Love. It's a precarious thing and tough to embrace sometimes. Hey, Love aint' easy, especially when the other person lets you down or hurts you. But in the end, as the saying goes, "it is better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all". I believe that. But I also agree as J. Guiles once sang...."love stinks.....yeah yeah.." ahhhhh.......love.