The notion of Love is perhaps one of the most complex.

I like to define ‘love’ as the act of helping someone to grow to their fullest potential, even if it is inconvenient to me. Growing to our fullest potential starts with baby steps.

The potential of a seed is the fruit. The seed needs watering before it turn in to a plant. The plant needs water, air, sunlight and fertiliser to become the tree. The tree needs continuous nurturing to become the fruit. Converting the seed to a fruit requires help that is inconvenient to the nurturer.

The same is true for helping a baby grow to be a purposeful person, helping a acquaintance to grow to a strong relationship, helping a business idea grow in to a profitable business etc. It takes care, sacrifice, patience and inconveniences. this I consider an act of love.

Understanding our ‘purpose’ helps understand our real legitimate potential, because growing in an area not in sync with our purpose takes more energy, more time, more effort and results in lesser quality and wasted resources. For example, a person born to be one of the best athletes in the world will succeed faster and with less effort and the right nurturing, because he/she is bestowed with the talent and the passion for such greatness. However if this person was pushed in to a different vocation he/she will not achieve such greatness.

Therefore loving is helping someone, including ourselves to grow purposefully.