On an unplanned Friday night in the pub, a friend asked me what I thought the secret was to a long and healthy relationship. It fit in quite neatly with something that had tickled my mind repeatedly since Valentine's day. In keeping with the season, Dictionary.com published a blog which boasted they have 140 synonyms for love. I wonder why we have so many words to describe love? In a way it mirrors the urban myth that Eskimos have seventy different words for snow. I don't know how true that is. But if we really have over one hundred words for love, it must be terribly important to us. In an age where we are so connected, where we have ‘official’ friendships because they are published online, where we can easily gate in touch with people from all over the world, is it surprising that we are so obsessed with the ultimate expression of acceptance by another?
The first few pieces featured here are going to be inspired by some of the different words we have for love. In all honesty, I can only pick the ones that I am inspired by. So please don't expect 140 pieces! And I can't promise that these pieces will contain any real wisdom, which I suspect was sadly lacking in my reply to Andy's question. But I hope you enjoy them, at least.
