My Micro-Moment
What is love? We all have our own fantasies about what love will be like when that train finally makes it to our station. We, as a Western culture, think of love as a pot of gold that only the luckiest of us will stumble upon, as something only experienced when the Prince carries you away on a noble steed, as only legitimate when you are “in” it. These fantasies don't do much for us in terms of promoting well being, so I decided to reevaluate my take on love. In an effort to redefine what love looks like for myself, I simply looked up the word. To my surprise love does not have a very expansive, comprehensive definition. It is actually defined quite literally from the Merriam Webster Dictionary as an “intense feeling of deep affection.” thats it. Its almost humorous how such a simple word has acquired such an unreachable, illusory place in our minds. This idea is also drawn upon largely by Barbara Fredrickson in her book Love 2.0. Fredrickson combats the typical westernized fairytale view of love with her own theory, the idea of “Micro-moment positivity resonance” this is the idea that love is characterized by strong positively charged moments, which are shared between you and any other person in your day to day life. There are two conditions to the effectiveness of this theory; one being there must be an internal and external sense of safety, Two being there must be real time physical sensory connection. Once those conditions are met even a small shared connection will prove to be extremely beneficial to ones happiness. Fredrickson takes some of the rarity away from our perception of what love is, and leaves us with something more attainable. Because love and happiness are correlated, more love equals more ha...
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...t it still brings me joy. Because of this experience I am more open to people and to broader definitions of love. I no longer strive for an illusionary love, I am more easily affected by small gestures of kindness and I allow them to bring me happiness.
In summation, love is ubiquitous. Its scattered throughout day to day life, only to be found in the most unsuspected places. If we could learn to accept love for what it really is, i.e a shared positive emotional connection, happiness may flow more easily. Love isn't only the grand gesture at the end of a romantic movie, its not only your mothers undying affection; its that wonderful conversation that you didn't want to end with the man at the grocery store, its a shared smile with a stranger who opened the door for you, it's around us all of the time, we just have to change our perception and learn to see it.
The notion behind loving someone is simply very complicated and esoteric in nature. People often describe a certain chemistry, as in a certain attraction, needed between two individuals who are in love, but Barbara Fredrickson is able to coordinate the definition of love on the basis of chemicals. Barbara Fredrickson is able to provide the definition of love on the deductive reasoning based on chemistry, biology, and neurology explained in Love 2.0: How our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything we Feel, Think, Do, and Become. As Barbara explains, “With each micro-moment of love, then, you climb another rung on the spiraling ladder that lifts you up to your higher ground, to richer and more compassionate social relationships, to greater resilience and wisdom, and to better physical health.” (121).
love in the context of being a device that is used to protect and to care for people
things in one’s life have the ability to cloud or cover up feelings of love.
Love is said to be one of the most desired things in life. People long for it, search for it, and crave it. It can come in the form of partners, friends, or just simply family. To some, love is something of a necessity in life, where some would rather turn a cold shoulder to it. Love can be the mixture of passion, need, lust, loyalty, and blood. Love can be extraordinary and breathtaking. Love being held so high can also be dangerous. Love can drive people to numerous mad things with it dangerously so full of craze and passion.
As any romantic will assert, love is by far the most powerful force known to human hearts and minds. This sentiment is espoused throughout history, almost to the point of cliché. Everyone has heard the optimistic statement, “love conquers all,” and The Beatles are certain, however idyllic it may be, that “all you need is love.” Humanity is convinced that love is unique within human emotion, unequalled in its power to both lift the spirit up in throws of ecstasy, and cast it down in utter despair.
In The New Humanities Reader edited by Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer. We read about Barbara Fredrickson the author of the book “Love 2.0” copy right (2013). Barbara Fredrickson is a psychologist who show in her research how our supreme emotion affects everything we Feel, Think, Do and become. Barbara also uses her research from her lab to describe her ideas about love. She defines love not as a romance or stable emotion between friends, partners and families, but as a micro-moment between all people even stranger (108). She went farther in her interpretation of love and how the existence of love can improve a person’s mental and physical health (107). Through reading
love does not exist in this world then the people who live on it will
Love is arguably the most powerful emotion possessed by mankind; it is the impalpable bond that allows individuals to connect and understand one another. Pure love is directly related to divinity. Without love, happiness and prosperity become unreachable goals. An individual that possesses all the desired superficial objects in the world stands alone without the presence of love. For centuries love has been marveled by all that dare encounter it. Countless books and poems have been transcribed to explain the phenomenon of love, but love surpasses all intellectual explanations and discussions. Love is not a definition, but rather a thought, an idea. This idea, the idea of love, burns inside us all. Instinctually, every soul on Earth is
What is this thing called love? This simple question begs for an answer. The symptoms of love are familiar enough. A drifting mooniness in one’s behavior and thought, the fact that it seems as though the whole universe has rolled itself up into the person of the beloved, something so wonderful that no one on earth has ever felt about a fellow creature before. Love is ecstasy and torment, freedom and slavery. Love makes the world go round.
he Power of Love Love is a powerful emotion that affects everyone at some time in their lives. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, love is defined as a feeling of strong and constant affection for someone(1). Love can refer to the feelings between a couple in a romantic relationship, or it can refer to the affection one would have with a friend. When love is shown, each person cares about the other. Sometimes, love can be hypnotizing, causing one to do something they would not do normally.
Love, an intense feeling of deep affection. Everyone wants to reach this state, whether its physically, mentally, or emotionally. Love brings peace, it 's the only thing that does not hurt. Hate hurts, lies hurt, loneliness hurts, but love is what cures all of the wounds. Seeking a lifelong partner to provide support, for a plethora of people, is an ultimate objective and goal. This happiness can be discovered several times; however, only true love will triumph. Not an average, but a supererogatory significant other is what is dreamt of. Falling in love is process, and can manipulative. Provoking someone to fall inlove will allow for the long-term presence of a supportive and loving significant other. Those who seek both; to have
The word love is usually misused or misinterpreted. There are numerous meanings and definitions to this overly used word. Not many of them make much sense to me. Love is a feeling of complete bliss. Love is something that can’t be touched or bought, but is something that is much better than money and earthly objects. I can stay here and describe love all day long and still have so much more to say about this word days later. Love isn’t a word that should be used lightly, but usually is. I believe that love is the most commonly used, but most understood word ever known
Love is the basis of every day life, and it gives us the power to feel so affectionately
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins,. 349. The. “Psychological Theories About the Dynamics of Love (I).” 01 Mar. 2005 http://psychology.about.com/library/weekly/aa022000a.htm Richmond, Raymond Lloyd.
Poets and philosophers for centuries have been trying to answer the question, what is love? Love has an infinite number of definitions, which vary from one person to another. Love cannot be measured by any physical means. One may never know what true love is until love it- self has been experienced. What is love? A four letter word that causes a person to behave in a way that is out of character. What is love? A first kiss, childhood crushes on a teacher or friend’s mom. What is love? A choice that people make by putting their partner’s wishes, desires and needs above everything else. What is love? The act of forgiveness, the infatuation with someone, the communication between two people. What is love? A friendship that turned into a lifelong commitment, that special someone who has vowed to spend the rest of their lives to honor and protect, to love each other “till death do you part.” When in love nothing else in the world matters. According to the online Encarta Dictionary love is the passionate feeling of romantic and sexual desire and longing for somebody. Poets and philosophers may never know what love really is, and we may never truly understand the question what is love.