The other day, a good friend asked me what I thought love was. I wasn't able to give a very good answer. But this morning, I was browsing Jon's live journal, and came across his most recent post where he answers that very same question. His answer runs pretty close to mine, and is more eloquent than I could ever be.

For those of you too lazy to click over, here's his post:

A rare morsel of depth

Over the past year, I've learned something that I consider to be the most valuable lesson I've ever learned.

Those of you who have known me long enough to have heard my grandiose and impromptu theories of life have seen the importance that I place on Balance: Everything in moderation, even moderation itself... There are no golden rules... Everything depends, and is open to discussion... The Way means striking that balance, or letting it strike itself. Obviously, these guidelines go out the window when I go off on tirades and I'm as guilty as anyone of going to extremes, but generally they apply. It's the core of how I work, and what I do with my kids.

In the last year, though, something seeped through. Something I couldn't ignore came up. It's the concept of "unconditional."

At a certain point, your love can run so deep that it no longer depends on anything. It just is... in a way that's completely unconditional and unquestionable. It means that no matter what that person does or says, your love remains unbreakable. It means you no longer think about if you'll make it through, or if you'll be able to forgive... just how. It doesn't mean you're stupid, or in constant denial, or blind to the things that hurt you, or even that you'll spend the rest of your life with that person next to you. It just means that there are things that you don't have to question.

Yes, I love you. Yes, I forgive you. No, I will not be disappointed.

There are three people in this world for whom I feel this. One will probably read this, one I'm not sure if they still check, and one will probably never lay eyes on this text. One of them once told me, "yeah, but you're only human." My answer: "I'd argue there isn't anything in this world more human than this."

...I have feelings I want to express in response to his post, or in addition to his post, but I can't put words to them. I'll try again later, perhaps.

Anyhow, go, Jon. You've always been so much better with words and language than I ever could be.