It makes me scared because if it's the relationship kind, I worry about hurting the other person...

I think all of us have stepped on a bear trap at one point in our lives and none of us can ever love that same way ever again.

Love has been able to do that for a long, long time.

The reason for that, is because the term love is a very strong and powerful word. One of the few words in the dictionary that can be so powerful as to destroy a life... and yet so gentle that it can create life as well. Love encompasses the entire spectrum of emotions and out of all of them, is the most meaningful. In a lot of peoples lives, Love is their motivation, love is their reason for living. Whether the Love harbored in their body is built up with true feelings of positivity or dwelling their under negativity, like distrust, guilt, or revenge, Love is a different motivation and drive in anyones lives. In my opinion, Love in this day and age is a tossed around emotion. It's taken for granted too often, and it's also been a ploy in many a relationships built on lies, to get what one wants, which is why Love has become associated with such terms as anger and fear. Fear, more understandable. Love can be a powerful gift many people do not know how to handle when real love is thrust into their lives. Anger, comes in when love is misconstrued as something else. Misunderstandings and lies, things like that. Now, In my world, Love is a ruling factor. I do not see anything in my love to have cause for fear or anger. I've taken in what has been givin to me and appreciate what I have. My friends, my family, My life. That's what I see when I see love, and wish many others could as well.

Naturally, not everyone has the same reaction.

Few take the experience of heartbreak as individual occurances. When it comes to heartbreak you think with emotion rather than with logic, and your sight becomes cloudy. one tends to lock away their heart because its the easiest thing to do while it heals. Now, leaving it in a cage is a cop out IMHO.

I too am guilty of this.

yes, but then there's the point where people mix love and obsession, sadly it happens all the time...

There's a right way to love and a wrong way. If love is accompanied by fear and anger, they're doing it wrong. I'm thinking there is a serious issue with communication and misunderstanding going on.

I'd highly suggest the books "Crucial Conversations" and "Crucial Confrontations". These can seriously turn a bad thing around and get it headed in the right direction. Seriously. Please check it out.

Truer words were never said!
But in the absence of communication, the word alone dredges up the same emotions that were brought upon that broken heart when so-n-so left, cheated or otherwise betrayed that person. Love no longer holds good memories and from that point forward it's viewed as a weapon?

We all trust more than we should, and we all have ended up hurt at one point or another, but when does it regress from reasonable caution to a mental illness?

In all seriousness, that question alone might suggest it's time to talk to a professional about it. Just a counselor or therapist. There are likely already some deep, deep issues going on--stuff that friends can't really even begin to figure out.

Because too often "love" is used too loosely and when it really does turn out to be just a word, somebody gets hurt.

I hear that one.

"Fear", I can understand. LOVE is a big word, with many meanings, and most of us have had problems at some point after that word was used, and it's gotten a bit... tarnished. Makes you wary.

Now, if it immediately or almost immediately brings "anger" to mind... I'd say that could be a problem. the only OFFHAND exception I can see if is the word is being used as a defense in an already screwed up or tense situation...


I know you said this is just "discuss"... but I hope everything is well with you. This is the kind of 'discuss' that makes people who know you through your journals (and formerly comics) worry about/for you. ;)

Love, anger, hatred, jealousy. These are all passionate emotions, and interrelated.

I love to hate the enemy, and when he has a bigger gun or a funner tank, it fills me with anger and jealousy.

See?