I used to mistake "Desire" for "Love." Desire is passion, longing or need. Love is sharing your heart with someone who makes your soul, sing. I used to conflate "needing" and "wanting", too. Needing is as pervasive an emotion as it is, prolific. Only rivaled by fear. Think about what you need that would make you the happiest you've ever been. A joy that you can feel in the deepest recesses of your heart and soul. What would you do to satisfy that need? What wouldn't you do?
The problem with "needs" is, eventually they are met. Once this happens dynamics and personal agendas tend to shift. Think back when you needed something, I bet when your "need was met", shit got different. Need much like desire, is designed to dissipate. In excess of desire leads to destruction. In excess, all things do. Desire is our ego's version of love. It gratifies who we are at that moment.
Love? Love is different. It can manifest itself in our lives in countless of ways. Everyone has experienced their own adventures or misadventures, in love. I suppose, it all boils down to if your ego was in love or if your soul was. But that's just my opinion. In my experience when you love someone, you not only want them, you want all good things for them. You protect them even from yourself when needed. You lift them up when they've fallen, heal them and help them dry the tears they've shed on the inside. You want to make them happy and you hope, that they make you happy. However, it must be said that a healthy love is when you're already authentically happy with yourself and love someone who enhances your life with their love.
Everybody loves differently. I believe that is due to many people conflating "Desire" with "Love". Love always requires a sacrifice of some kind for it to be real and for it to grow. Always. That is the difference between desire and love. One requires a sacrifice, the other a need. Little wonder why we struggle and fight to extend desire's short life span, hurting ourselves and others in the process. Learning to tell them apart can take a lifetime. Sadly, it often still does.
