I was going to comment on Jill's post from the other day, but it got too long.

if you really love someone, you go out of your way to not hurt them. you enjoy their company. you try to make their lives more enjoyable. you are willing to sacrifice some of your own needs for them (note: being a doormat is not true love, since you aren't loving yourself in that situation). if they need help, you help as long as you are humanly capable. you share yourself with them. you work through problems. and you can tell when you're not being loved back, which is when you need to get out of the relationship. this goes for friends, family, lovers, marriages, boy/girlfriends, but not pets. because everyone knows a pet can't drive you to the mall or help you move or even make you dinner. in fact, pets are an entirely different form of love altogether. forget i even mentioned them.

i think that the scary thing about falling too fast is that it's hard to keep it up, and sometimes the other person doesn't have the same speed. otherwise, why not? the beatles were right. we'd all be nothing without any form of love.

i agree that the word is thrown around too often with nothing to support it. the actions always speak louder than words.

there, that's my philosophy of love in a nutshell. it's only recently that i've come to such clear conclusions. i am grateful for such understanding. some people go a lifetime without knowing these simple things; it makes all the difference.