As we approach Valentine’s Day, many of us                                                                               are planning and preparing to celebrate love, but do we really know what that is? What is love? My brother summed up the answer to this perennial question best: Love is a verb. No, it’s not just a morpheme used to make a syntactical structure grammatical, but an action. Love is acting selflessly, doing what is best for others, and giving unconditionally.

For eons we’ve tried to understand what love is, but we’ve gotten stuck thinking that love is a noun – an object or person to be possessed. No one can ever own another’s feelings, choices, or actions. Love is not something that can be bought, earned, or taken. Love is a choice to let go of our selfish egos, and live with compassion and kindness. Selfishness and love are like oil and water. They just can’t mix.

Love is a truly selfless act. Let’s celebrate this Valentine’s Day, and every day, with acts of love for our family and friends, for strangers, for animals, and for our whole planet. All we need is…to love.