![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/xrayman/23vsDreHJPzd4wp3FCZPJzoAfwt3Ky1HoupJcvkCYaefCV6tgN9iW5tKLMtQZ2Jt2cX97.png) #### _Love_ It is a theme that moves the world and humanity. After all, it is what gives meaning to many things, if not to life itself and the experience of living. Letters, vows, songs, poems, and even the construction of the Taj Mahal all had love as their seed. But love turns out to be an emotion very close to hate. There isn’t such a great distance between the two, but perhaps that’s because love is experienced not in a complete way, but merely as a passion. A fleeting emotion that didn’t have the time or maturity to grow. When we love someone because they love us, it ends up being a feeling of empathy. It is part of the human condition to respond to a feeling that is felt by another. But even this simplest form of reciprocity is not entirely true today, for we do not always feel empathy for those who care for us. On the other hand, when we love someone for their appearance or physical traits, it’s closer to obsession. A feeling of attraction to something that draws us in, merely because of something that exists here and now, but which can vanish from one moment to the next, or change over time. Let’s not forget that physical characteristics are the most basic means of communicating genetic traits and the qualities we can pass on to our offspring. But this alone is not enough. Loving someone solely for their beauty is nothing more and nothing less than an obsession. On the other hand, if we love someone for what that person has, it ends up being self-interest. And today, as it has always been, this kind of love has always existed and will always continue to exist. There will always be someone who loves another for what they have, and someone who is loved for what they possess. It has always been this way. Kindness and goodness can also be reasons for loving someone, or for someone to love us. And in that case, that love is admiration. We want someone who is kind, loving, and good in our lives—it is more than desirable. We always seek these qualities in one way or another, and we want them to be the foundation of long-lasting relationships. Not a weekend fling, or a summer romance. And can we always compartmentalize the reason why we love someone, or the reason why someone loves us? Not always. Or rather, rarely. Rarity is just one of the characteristics that exist. If we’re confused and don’t know the reason why we love someone, then it’s definitely love! ![separador.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/xrayman/23swppYGLECw991bW1wsSTEwnV8YKgqPHaiAdDJioriDcMJR4GymNLH1VbQ98ykpBYkob.png) ^{Image by Annie Spratt from Pixabay} ^{Original text written by @xrayman in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)} ![XRayMan.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/xrayman/23tSNKgT6Zssji2twDxLZSeSESs2q8pnNUYQuFe7gqFkFFT3rrjE8pcMnXVcFpd87PxJY.gif)