Does love give us purpose?

TAYLER REVIERE VERNINAS | THE USD VISTA | ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

With the nationally trademarked holiday, Valentine’s Day, only a few days away, I guess it is applicable to consider what we love. But before we can think about what we love, we might want to define the term that contains a variety of definitions to different people.

If I were to use Merriam-Webster’s particular definition of love I would describe it as a warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion.

Whether we feel this toward a significant other, a family member, a pet, a materialistic object, a specific location, or a memory, we are constantly experiencing love. And within these moments of devotion we are also experiencing moments of purpose.  I know that sometimes the phrase gets thrown around and people often find it silly to think one is supposed to have a purpose in life. But what I have come to discover is that many of my peers are constantly questioning their purpose in life and in this world, even without a spiritual lense.

Yes, some of us may love the high fashion, the materialistic goodies, and the upscaled whips, but a lot of us realize that life is so much greater than those little things that we claim to love.

That’s the thing about the term love, it is so loosely used that at times we are not fully sure what to consider loveable.

Within these feelings of enthusiasm and devotion, we might be able to find the deeper meaning of  purpose through the things which we love.

Recently, my acting professor shared with our class how she noticed a change of how we view materialistic objects. Because us millennials are considered a spoiled generation, we are viewed as taking many things for granted.

However, my professor begs to differ. She argues that she sees a change in how we view our purpose as young individuals experiencing life on this universe.

So, if we recognize that what we love goes beyond the materialistic scope, then what is it that we truly love? And does what we love determine how we find our purpose in life?

It could be viewed from both sides of the spectrum.  Love gives us purpose in our lives by providing us with intangible feelings that can motivate us to discover something in which we find a deeper purpose for doing.

Or our purpose for doing something can spark feelings of devotion within us that can enable us to experience love. Either way, whatever we experience throughout our lives, we must remember to go about it with the enthusiasm and devotion that Webster describes as love.