Willie Nelson had a country song favorite some time ago that dealt with "all the girls I love," a concept many men consider during their lives. I have and still do love many people in my life, including many women (girls? too chauvinistic?). Without belaboring the concept of different kinds of love: "eros,""agape,""philia,""storge," etc. let me simply say that "love" in my mind is the major concept of connection between living beings. I have been married only once -- but I have loved often. I have made love many times -- but truly loved someone else many, many fewer times than that.
Some women I have known, on whatever level, have questioned my love -- or made fun of it -- or derided it as "not enough" for them -- or even took it for something "hateful" rather than loving. That I could be that badly misunderstood is the most telling thing about those last "connections" -- it speaks volumes about incompatibility without ever having to present details. Understanding the importance of many loves in one's own life is the progressive understanding of life itself. Friendship, coital love, collegiality, compassion, living with -- all are specific kinds of "love" -- to some degree, and at some level. There are no final words on this subject -- the subject spreads and grows beyond our lifetimes.
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