@FPJ: I must once again state for the record (though not through Tom this time) that you are my hero!
It's nice to see that not all Americans think in terms of sex, that's so depressing for me.
@ClassicPig: Kudos to you, too for the thoughtful post!
@Sebatianos: I agree, but I tend to think that "unconditional" love is more like the love that allows you to forgive people even when they hurt you, rather than being a "Romeo and Juliet" moving mountains sort of love.
@Schabernakel-anbeter: Respect is key, imho. Not sure about the marriage thing, I think he'd have to talk to her first
Now that a few people have responded, I'm going to try to summarize my feelings...
I tend to agree most with FPJ (which is why he's my hero, I guess, hehe). I think love isn't so much a state of being as it is an action, something that you must always strive to express. I think you do choose who you love, more than you don't. Of course, you can't just choose to love someone randomly (well, you could, but that would be strange :blink
, so I think that attraction plays a key as well, whether it be mental attraction or physical attraction.
I personally don't function in terms of physical attraction... I get a mental attraction way faster than I will think of someone as physically attractive, and so I think I sometimes confuse a what should probably stay as a friendly love with what I want for a romantic one, because that's what I find attractive.
Respect, also is HUGE for me in love. I cannot stress it enough. It's one thing to be comfortable with someone, but to be so "comfortable" that you fundamentally disrespect the person is something I find unacceptable. It's more like taking them for granted than true comfortableness.