Ponderings

What is love?

February 14, 2026 /

Valentine’s Day is here and it’s made me question what love is. When it comes to the world of romance, what exactly is love? Are you able to answer this question?

In a world where swipes and instant gratification have become the norm, romantic love seems rather fickle and risky. I’m happy for people that find their special someone. I’m even more happy for those that confidently tie the knot with that special someone.

But I’m aware there are many that opt to just settle for someone. They settle for someone because they want to be in a relationship. They settle because it’s comfortable. They settle because they don’t want to be alone. They settle because it’s what everyone else is doing. They also might settle because there’s something to benefit from the relationship, be it money, status, a place to live or something else.

It’s not my business to intervene into anyone’s love life but none of the above sounds decent enough of a reason to enter a relationship because love is absent.

I suppose both love and relationships are a lot more complicated than they should be. If only Cupid (Eros) truly existed and did his thing accurately, everyone would have their own neverending beautiful love story. (But Cupid’s love story wasn’t all that beautiful. If I remember correctly, he never allowed his lover to see what he looked like, simply because love was meant to be blind. In the end, she had to go through all types of trials and tribulations after getting a glimpse of how attractive her husband was. I mean, he was a God after all and not some cute, little cherub the West has painted him out to be…)

There are times I fancy the idea of being in love, romantically. The issue is that there’s no guarantee (or warranty) that a relationship will lead to a happily ever after. What a risk and what a potential waste of time, honestly!

So, I don’t think much about it just like how Valentine’s Day is just another day for some of us. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be. But then again, even this phrase requires some amount of intent, effort and action.