Is this love that I'm feeling?

A lot of couples that engage in Public Displays of affection are not expressing their lovefor each other. In my expert opinion they are trying to convince each other of their love by saying, or rather shouting to everyone around, “ Hey, look at us swap DNA. We love each other so much.”

There are some public displays of affection that are acceptable. Holding hands, putting an arm around a loved one at a movie, or giving a hug at an airport, all of these, along with others are acceptable forms of public affection. But love, and the expression of it, goes far beyond physical interaction. Love manifests itself in many other ways.

An unfortunate thing is that in English one word describes this multifaceted thing that called love. In ancient Greece there were three words that were used to express love. They were Eros, this is erotic or passionate love that drives a couple to sexual activity, Agape, the kind of love that exists between parents and children, and Philia, the kind of brotherly or plutonic love that can exist between both men and women. But all of these are taken and lumped into one word, love.

Frankly, couples that are passionately kissing are playing with fire, they are running with scissors, they are walking a tight rope straddling two pools, one is full of hungry great white sharks, and the other is full of Jelly Belly jelly beans, and many other clichés that we could use in our discussion about passionately kissing.

I consider myself an observer of life. My hope is that through my observations of others actions that I can learn something that will make me a better person and that I will not fall into the same traps as they have. On more then one occasion, close friends have come to me, prior to their wedding, and have said that they wished that they had not used physical means to express their love. The best thing to do is to save these signs of affection until we have been properly pronounced man and wife.