now that we've found love what are we gonna do with it?

Gotta love the musical musings of Heavy D…… But seriously, now that I’ve found love, what am I going to do with it???!!!

Being in love is great, isn’t it? Surely, it beats not being in love. Not having had much experience in recent years of being in a loving relationship (more like loving getting out of weird relationships…), this is new and exciting (as well as slightly lapsed and somewhat scary) for me. Yes, I love the guy – so now what? Love is hard to quantify or define, so how do people know when or why they are in love? Dictionary.com defines love by the following characteristics:

* A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person

* A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend

* A person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart

* A love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour

* Sexual intercourse; copulation – whoa….. I’m pretty sure that men have managed to distinguish love from sex in many instances, no???

* A personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid – awww – I should get G Spot to dress up in angel wings and take a picture. Of course, I will share it with you.

* Affectionate concern for the well-being of others

* Strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything – Anything or anyone?!

* The benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God – don’t even get me started – this is NOT a religious blog.

* A score of zero; nothing – this is my love life we’re talking about here, people, not Wimbledon.

The website goes on to define synonyms for love, which I can appreciate:

* AFFECTION is a fondness for others that is enduring and tender, but calm

* DEVOTION is an intense love and steadfast, enduring loyalty to a person – I’m loving the word DEVOTION right now.

In a very timely article, Respected National Newspaper ran a love poll. The results of the poll were as follows:

Percentage of people who believe in “the one” – 26% of ppl aged 30 – 34 and 36% of ppl aged 50 – 54 believe in the concept of finding 'the one' – this really surprises me, as I have become rather cynical as I’ve aged. I am surprised that people believe in finding ‘the one’ in their later years, which could be after many years of dating... At the age of 54, having not found 'the one', wouldn't one be satisfied simply to find 'one' full stop???!!!

What’s the soonest you’ve said “I love you” in a relationship? 42% of people say the words within a couple of months, 18% within 6 months, 8% within a year & 3% over a year.

Do you believe in love at first sight? 29% of women and 44% of men believe in love at first sight. What???!!! I’m confused! 44% of men????? I must have been dating the other 56% of men over the past few years, then.

Similarly to the percentage of people who believe in ‘the one’, the percentage of people who believe in love at first sight increases with age, which is very interesting to me. I’ve become such a jaded woman, my goodness! However, luckily and thankfully, not so jaded to be unable to let love in. Where I once used to give death glares to couples engaged in enthusiastic PDA’s, I now smile in solidarity – I can relate. Lately, I’ve been wandering around Cosmopolitan City fueled by endorphins from having regular sex (yes!!!) with a face like a smiley emoticon and I love it.