Can we even define the "L" word?

Dear "It" Girl,

Samantha’s thoughts on the “L” word can certainly inspire thought about the meaning of love and the nature of commitment.

“Until he says "I love you", you're a free agent,” she says.
For some, love and commitment go hand in hand, while others have much reason to doubt the notion that “love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage”. (Wow, did I really just write that!?)

On many the occasion, people have liked to ask someone such as myself to define love. Like I told Coach K in my interview on the “All You Need Is Love” show, I simply cannot, as love is such a personalized experience, meaning so many different things to so many people. (Heck, love even means so many different things to the same person!) Since love is always growing-until it dies that is- it’s always acquiring new definitions.

What I do know is this:
One doesn’t have to be committed to another to love him or her. Surely, love can exist throughout time even when it is unrequited. (Just look at all the great literary and musical works!) Sometimes loving someone can even mean not committing. The real commitment in love is loving with the mere hope and no guarantee that your love will result in you being loved in return. In essence, it is giving all and expecting nothing that makes for one meaning of true love.

Love, Rachel Russo, MS, MFT