Self Love

I’m trying to learn how to Self Love better.

And I’m a rather logical guy, so I looked up

the definitions of Love, to see if I can understand

Love better so I can better Love myself.

Love:

As a Noun

A strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

An attraction based on sexual desire

An affection and tenderness felt by lovers

An affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests

An assurance of affection

A warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion

An object of attachment, devotion, or admiration

A beloved person, often used as a term of endearment

An unselfish loyal and benevolent such as:

       The fatherly concern of God for humankind

       Brotherly concern for others

       A person's adoration of God

A god (such as Cupid or Eros) or personification of love

An amorous episode, or Love Affair

The sexual embrace or Copulation

And as a Verb

To hold dear

To feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for

To fondle amorously

To copulate with

To like or desire actively or take pleasure in

To thrive in

And I have to give credit where credit is due.

Merriam Webster does a good job

encapsulating something which is impossible to say.

How can you put into words that you’d take

the time to grocery shop with them?

or that you’d stay up late watching

stars crawl across the sky?

How can you say that when they are around,

everything and anything can go to complete Shit,

but I’m still okay.

That when I push you away,

it’s because I don’t hate you,

but because your love is too

much for me right now

The English Language is so limited in

how to express ourselves.

The word “Fuck” has so many meanings.

The word “Love” has too many meanings.

But it’s still not enough.

So, I turned to other languages,

outside of my own limitations,

to see what they use for Love.*

Έρωτας (Erotas) – Romantic Love Greek

Aγάπη (Agape) – Spiritual Love Greek

Φιλία (Philia) – Non-Romantic Love between equals Greek

Στοργή (Storgé) – The Love between a Parent and Child Greek

μεράκι (Meraki) – Doing something with soul, creativity, or Love Greek

愛 (Ai) – Love in a broader sense Japanese

恋 (Koi) – Romantic Love, or Physical Love Japanese

こい の よかん (Koi No Yokan) – The sudden knowledge upon meeting someone that you are destined to fall in love Japanese

侘寂 (Wabi-Sabi) – A way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth or decay Japanese

அன்பு (Anpu) – General term for Love Tamil

காதல் (Katl) – Romantic Love Tamil

ஆசை (Achai) – Love you feel when longing for someone Tamil

பாசம் (Pachm) – Deeply connected Love Tamil

கைக்கிளை (Kaikkilai) – Unreciprocated Romantic Love Tamil\

Querer – General Love Spanish

Amar – Romantic Love Spanish

Encantar – Indicating a “strong like” Spanish

حب (Habb) – General word for Love Arabic

عشق (‘Ishq) – “Honeymoon phase” of Love Arabic

شغف (Shaghaf) – Being madly in Love.  Or Lust Arabic

حنان (Hanaan) – Tenderness and Compassion Arabic

يقبرني (Ya’aburnee) – Meaning “you bury me”.  The hope is that the person you love outlives you so that you can avoid living in a world without your Love Arabic

Grá – All-purpose Love Irish

Cion – Affection Irish

Searc – Romantic or True Love Irish

Cumann – Love between friends Irish

स्नेह (Sneha) – Maternal Love Sanskrit

काम (Kama) – Erotic Love Sanskrit

अनुरक्ति (Anurakti) – Passionate Love Sanskrit

रति (Rati) – Physical Desire Sanskrit

प्रिय (Priya) – “Darling” or “Beloved” Sanskrit

Saudade – A feeling of Love for something that is gone Portuguese

Mamihlapinatapei – A wordless look between two people who want to start something, but are too scared to start it themselves Yagan

Gigil – The urge to pinch something because it’s cute Filipino

La douleur exquise – The pain of wanting someone you can’t have French

L’esprit de escalier – The inescapable feeling you get when you leave a conversation then think about all the things you should have said French

Forelsket – the overwhelming feeling when you fall in love with someone Norwegian

Onsra – Loving for the last time.  Knowing a love won’t last Boro

Loving for the last time; that bittersweet feeling you get when you know a love won’t last.

Queesting – Inviting someone to bed for pillow talk Dutch

Kilig – The rush of Love felt right after something good happens, particularly in love or dating Tagalog

Cavoli riscaldati – literally means “reheated cabbage” but it refers to the attempt of restarting a failed relationship Italian

Iktsuarpok – The anticipation when you are waiting for someone to come to your house Inuit

Kara sevde – Passionate, blinding love for another person Turkish

Ilunga – A person who is willing to forgive abuse the first time; tolerate it the second time, but never a third time Bantu

Viraag – The emotional pain of being separated from a loved one Hindi

Fensterln – When you have to climb through someone’s window in order to have sex with them without their parents knowing about it German

Fernweh – Feeling homesickness for a place you’ve never been to before German

yuan分 (Yuanfen) – A relationship by fate or destiny Chinese

Razbliuto – The sentimental feeling you get for someone you used to Love, but no longer Love Russian

It’s clear to me that English

Falls short significantly when it comes to Love.

How can I describe something which is

Impossible to translate

When all I have is “Love”?

Is that why I am so bad at Self Love?

Or is it because of some other,

deeply rooted issue?

It’s going to take more

than language and definition

classes to teach me how.

I guess the Masterclass on “Love”

Is all about the experience of Life

In relationship to living and loving

And living and loving

And living and………………..

*Disclaimer, I don't claim to be a Linguistics Master.  These are rough translations that I got from my time on the interwebs.  Please don't kill me Translation Police*