Fuzzy, you ask the best questions! This is a complicated one. Before I can try to answer it, I have to consider that there are different kinds of love - love for a friend, romantic love, love for a child, love for all manking. Tomi said that there needs to be action behind it. That is an excellent point. It has been said that love is not a noun, but a verb. As the song says, "It isn't something that we have - it's something that we do."

Well, I believe that you do have a choice about what you do. So to love or not must be a choice. There are people who make a choice to completely close themselves off to loving anyone. That is obviously a choice. You can also choose to be open to love. In the scriptures we are commanded to love our neighbor. There would be no point in commanding anyone to do something if it was not something that is a choice.

However, there are other factors to consider. Some people are easier to love than others. Also, love (particularly romantic love) is a two-way proposition. You can choose to love someone, but whether or not they love you is their choice, not yours. Also whether or not they accept your love. It gets really frustrating when they don't. What do you do? Keep loving them anyway, or decide to stop loving them? Or change the type of love you have for them? It probably depends on the situation and who it is. Your child, a neighbor, a romantic interest...

On the other hand, love is also a noun. Feelings are both verbs and nouns. It is much harder to choose your feelings than it is to choose whether you go for a walk or sit down at the computer. Feelings may be present or not present or present to a certain degree. If you try to change your feelings, are you being true to your real self?

One difference between love and chemistry is that chemistry is definitely a noun, and is either there or not there. Chemistry can be complicated and beyond our comprehension, particularly the kind of chemistry that relates to love.

I do feel that love is a choice, to an extent anyway, but it just isn't so cut and dry, is it? I hope you don't mind me answering your question with more questions.

Keep them coming!
Wendy